The Ladybug and The Mer
by imthepunchlord
Summary: When Ladybug is lost at sea, she finds herself saved by one of the most dangerous sea beings in the world: a mer.
1. Karma

**It's finally out! This piece right here is one of the reasons I was a bit inactive these last few months, along with getting through the semester. This fic is already completed, total of 12 chapters, and I'll be updating daily until completion.**

* * *

There are many things Captain Ladybug was prepared for.

There was a lot she'd had to face at a young age after all.

Taken in and mentored by the infamous Captain Jagged Stone, he had trained her to be ready for the rough ocean waters that had consumed her life.

She had learned to swing on ropes around the mast, and could make any sort of tie or knot with the rough material. She had learned how to scale and climb around a ship, get around fast and stayed out of the way of the bustling crew.

She'd learned to fight with swords and knives. She'd learned to make her own smoke bombs, to make use of her environment to get around, to escape, to win. To pickpocket and steal people blind. She'd swam in the deepest waters with all sorts of creatures near her, from Jagged's frightening croc Fang to wild sharks stalking them for scraps.

She'd faced other pirates, sailors, and the navy.

She'd studied the lore and laws of the seas and was clever enough to know her way around land lovers, escaping those that sought the infamously lucky Captain Ladybug.

Ladybug would proudly declare that there was a lot that she was ready to face.

Hardly anything could unnerve her.

As it should be.

A pirate shouldn't be unnerved.

They should be creative and clever, always have a plan, always have a way around challenges. It was just her, Captain Ladybug, alone against the world. True friends were a rare treasure near impossible to find so for their own sake, a pirate had to always be ready to think for themselves.

Pirates could truly only trust themselves to watch their own backs.

And had to be capable of getting around difficulties.

Especially unplanned difficulties.

It'd been a long time since Ladybug had found herself stumped by the unexpected, but it was bound to happen at some point.

This seemed to be the day.

The sun was high, the clouds whiter than ivory, and the sky bluer than a sapphire. It was a very lovely day for a raid. The Chat Noir swerved and danced around his prey, the creak of Ladybug's ship almost sounding like a malicious cackle to the scrambling sailors, frightened by the large black ship and overwhelmed by the diving pirates.

Captain Ladybug, dressed in her infamous colors of red and black, was a startling sight to any she raced up to. In her youth, she was faster than these sailors were ready for, practically dancing around them, tripping them and snatching up their guns, knives, and crossbows. She had sailors slide into her crew, had them trapped, and had them roped. Almost half the crew was taken out through by her ambush.

She stopped for a moment, taking in the chaos, grinning to see that they were winning, not minding the angry hiss of the water as it sprayed at her back, or the blow of the wind rattling her dark hair and trying to tug her red and black hat off. With a good-natured smile, she grabbed her hat to secure it and started to look around.

This ship belonged to the king, one of the fanciest ships she'd ever seen in her young sailing life.

She could've sworn she saw that it was captained by a general, but who? D'Argencourt? Agreste? Raincomprix?

Ladybug was jostled out of her pondering when the ship suddenly lurched as a huge wave crashed into them. The pirate squeaked in surprise as the water pushed at her ankles, knocking her to the hard, slick floor and sliding her down with the tilt. She rolled with it, black gloves scrambling to catch something, fearful that she may be tossed off.

She barely heard the loud _thud_ of something falling onto the floorboards as the ship tilted, creaked, and moaned. And the surrounding waves bellowed as they were jostled by the two ships.

She did feel it though when she slammed into what fell onto the floorboards.

And she certainly heard the growl that was emitted.

Ladybug jerked back, surprised.

A net.

It was a big net.

A _full_ net.

Ladybug's blood went cold.

Tense green eyes glared back at her, shark-like teeth bared at her, and black finned ears set back tensely.

A mer.

There was a mer in the net.

With a gasp, Ladybug slid further away, tensing when the ship rocked again and slid her back closer to the trapped mer. She was very aware of his gaze locked on her, her own eyes locked on his frighteningly thin, inhuman pupils.

A mer, her mind repeated as a fearful whisper in her ear.

She came across a mer in the middle of her raid.

This was not good at all. And Ladybug can honestly say, she's not sure she's prepared for this.

Mers... mers were dangerous and unpredictable.

Even pirates, the terrors of the sea, dreaded any encounter they may have with a mer. You just never know with mers. All the tales and the stories of these lovely half human, half fish being warned people of that.

Mers were dangerous.

Mers were unlucky.

Mers were to be _avoided at all costs_.

They were the sea's reapers, harsh and relentless.

The most notorious tales were about temptation. Mers luring people to them, with their beauty, their voices, their treasures, their magic; some even went so far as to as to pretend to be helpless on a beach, grabbing any soft-hearted fool who came to help them. Those who fell for a mer's temptation were never seen again. Some say that those the mer took were taken to be grooms and brides; some say they were eaten. Some say that they were simply drowned for the mer's amusement or for some ancient war the human race had long forgotten, but mers themselves hadn't...

For sure, no one knew why mers were more than happy to kill humans unprovoked.

What was a certainty was that they were dangerous and to be avoided as much as possible.

Mers were reapers.

Mers were death.

And she just came across one.

She was here close to one, being slid back towards him as the ship tilted once more. Towards an angry, captured mer.

Why in the seven seas was there a captured mer on this ship?!

She's heard a wild tale once or twice about nobles that were willing to pay a lot of coin to have a pet mer, but she didn't think it was true! It was an insane idea and a suicidal mission! But it was clear before her eyes, a captured mer, tangled up in a net on a royal ship. This mer was to be a pet. It was done.

He hissed at her, bringing her back to reality. She hurried away when he lurched at her, claws scratching up the wood, his powerful tail slamming at the railing. She wildly looked him over, her heart skipping frightfully as she took him in, watching him struggle against the net.

Like all mer, he was beautiful. Breathtaking. His features were defined, his frame was lean but not too thin. His hair golden and wild, shimmering like a clean coin in the light. His eyes reminded her of a cat's eye gemstone, with thin black pupils to match. Thin pupils that thankfully broke any sort of spell his natural beauty might've wrapped her in, for humans didn't have eyes like those.

Nothing good had eyes like those.

And looking over the rest of him, Ladybug found herself even more unnerved.

This mer was odd.

Very odd.

The odd thing about him was his scales, his colors. Or more specifically: color.

It was common knowledge that mers take great pride in their coloration. Many brave and lucky were able to spy upon mers with their spyglass, observing them. They say mers would show off and compare the colors and patterns they have on their scales; they adored sunning just to see their scales shine. It was what made mers an envy on land. Alongside physical beauty, mers had the most beautiful scales with all sorts of colors and patterns.

Those foolish enough would brave coming near a mer, just to gaze upon the beauty.

But this mer, his scales were black. Blacker than the night.

A mer with black scales was… uncommon.

No one, on land that is, quite knew what it meant for a mer to have black scales, but most swore that it had to be a bad omen of sorts.

Mer had vibrant, colorful scales. It was a fact of life.

Black scales were… unnerving. Strange. Unorthodoxed.

Some swear that even other mers avoided those that had black scales, that they'll even attack those dark scaled mer.

And she just came across a black scaled mer…

She jumped when the tip of the tail swatted her boot.

Captain Ladybug grimaced, sending a wild look around her, her crew were fighting off a bunch of sailors. She saw who had to be Captain Raincomprix shouting desperate orders, trying to find some semblance of control in this. Her ship, _Chat Noir_ skimmed near, a dark ghost stalking its prey, waiting for her return.

Raincomprix didn't notice her near the mer, no doubt a being he'd captured, a being he intended to present to the king or whoever stupidly desired a mer. With how hard and dangerous they were to catch, any mer would do, even a black scaled one.

Ladybug turned back to the mer.

He was still, body heaving from exhaustion and slumped heavily on the floorboards, the net wrapped around him like a constraining blanket. She could even see it pressed against the gills under his arms, uncomfortably rubbing against the soft flesh with every breath he took. Ladybug winced, heart going out to the being.

He was staring at her, then sparing fast glances to the chaos around them, very clearly scared and unable to escape with the net tangled around him. Despite it, she could see him tense, his muscles rippling, ready to fight, to slash at whoever came near him.

He was still a fighter. Even trapped, and out of his element, he was ready to fight.

 _"Karma's a strange shark,"_ Captain Jagged had once told her when she was so much smaller, rushing to keep up with the towering pirate and only half listening to his strange proverbs. _"It may leave you alone and leave a current for you to ride home, or it may turn around and bite you in the ass."_

Karma was unpredictable, specifically for pirates.

A good doesn't secure another good.

Doing this may not save her from bad luck, from having the mer go after her too.

It may be best over all to just let the mer be.

They were a capable race. A bit clumsy and challenged on land, but no less dangerous. Even on a land, a mer could easily kill someone. Could easily kill a lot. She heard they were even able to take on human appearances, using that to trick their prey.

Ladybug should leave this alone, leave this to the sailors to deal with. They took the mer from the sea, they had to pay the price, whatever it may be. She needed to get back in on the attack, help with this raid, grab what they need and go. Even more so with a mer here. They needed to get away. To move on. Leave this be. This, this wasn't any of her business, and a mer certainly wasn't a treasure she wanted. He was far more likely to be her end.

And yet, she didn't move to leave him. She just sat crouched, gazing at him.

He kept equally stiff, his green eyes now locked on her, suspicious of what the small pirate would do.

Making a whimsy decision and mentally berating this choice, she braved the mer, drawing near him. She flinched when he sent her another hiss, this one much deeper and angrier.

He did not want her close.

And yet she crouched beside him, sitting close enough that he could easily slam his tail into her, he could break her arm in a single blow and crack her ribs.

He could even stab her with his spiny fins.

He could curl around and sink his teeth into her, with a bite that could rival a shark.

Despite these dangers, she took out her knife and started to cut away at the net, easing the tangles away from the mer's long form.

So focused on this task, moving as quickly as possible before he attacked or the surrounding battle caught up and rushed to them, she was unaware of the surprised gaze of the mer watching her work, gradually freeing him. His pupils were now bigger, his fin ears perked up with interest. He could feel the net ease away, feel it become looser with every snap.

When he felt it was loose enough, he took his chance.

With a wiggle, he slid out of the net and surged forwards, sliding along the slick wood and unintentionally swatting the pirate back. His finned ear twitched at her grunt but he just ignored it, locked on escaping. Sinking his black claws into the wood, he pulled himself along, moving his body into a slight slither as he went for the railing.

With a grunt, he pulled himself up, pausing long enough to glance back.

The pirate was equally frozen, sky blue eyes locked on him, wary.

He peered at her, his arms trembling slightly from holding up his weight.

He jerked when there was a shout, seeing the man that had caught him, pointing to the mer in alarm.

The mer's ears went flat as he bared his fangs at the sailor, hissing.

He dove into the angry sea, leaving the battle on the ship alone.


	2. Lost

_Chat Noir_ was a unique ship.

She had found the dark ship by the smallest chance when she was fifteen years old, scrambling to truly start her life as a pirate.

She came across it sitting in a bay off the shores of a small town, the ship itself nearly hidden in the night, just as black as a moonless evening. With a resolution and help from Jagged Stone, Ladybug had sailed _Chat Noir_ out into the open waters.

Her own ship.

Personally, Ladybug declared him to be her greatest prize. Her treasure. Her unique, fearsome treasure.

Chat sailed silently and swiftly through the water. He blended into the night with the timer's dark coloration. And when Ladybug and _Chat Noir_ struck their prey, their attack was fast and efficient.

In these two years, _Chat Noir_ has taken Ladybug far in life.

Ladybug adored _Chat Noir_. The ship was the greatest treasure she ever found.

Even if Jagged grumbled and insisted that the ship she chose was haunted. "I think a witch enchanted it," he had declared. If this was true, all the better. There was power in witchcraft. A fear of it. A fear that kept many other pirates away, afraid to be hexed or jinxed by Ladybug and her haunted ship _Chat Noir_.

Unfortunately, magical or not, a ship was a ship and there were limitations and challenges all ships faced. Like storms.

Ladybug gripped tightly to the rope, listening to it whine in protest as she was pulled against it, stretching it out as it kept her secured on _Chat Noir_. She stumbled when _Chat_ dropped flat, shaking slightly from the tumbling waves pushing at the hull.

Grimacing, Ladybug called out, "Steady!" watching her crew hold tight to their own ropes, ensuring they don't get thrown off. This had to be one if the roughest storms she'd seen in a good while. Rough enough to unnerve her.

Rough enough that her thoughts fluttered to the mer. Mers who were said to be capable of making storms. Did he possibly do this? Was her freeing him not enough?

Did the shark named karma turn and sink its teeth in her?

Ladybug pushed those thoughts away. Mer related or not, it was a storm to get through. And as needle-sharp rain poured down on her and savage waves pushed her about; Ladybug sought to see them all make it in one piece.

Hand gripping her safety line tight, she shouted to Ivan, "Try to keep us straight! Sail us out of the storm!"

"Yes Captain!" he answered over the wind, keeping a tight grip on the wheel, struggling to keep it straight.

Beside him, Mylene helped in keeping the wheel straightened, the couple glaring past the rain.

Ladybug turned, watching her crew, making sure they were all accounted for, and things were running smoothly.

Just a little longer, she told herself. They'd be out of this soo—

She tensed at a deep bellow of thunder and a harsh shove of the wind, one that sent her skidding across the wooden floor of her hull, her bare hand stinging from where the skin rubbed raw against the rope.

Unnerved as she held tight to the rope, Ladybug shouted out, "Any sign of the eye?"

That was another chance. Sailing out of the storm's path or slipping in the eye.

Over the howling wind, she heard Alya shout back, "No sign yet." She slid nearer adding, "I don't even know where the edge of it is."

"It's got to be somewhere!" Ladybug shouted. "Keep looking! We need to get out of this storm!"

 _Chat_ echoed her, moaning loudly as waves pushed the ship around.

Ladybug spared a wary look around, grimacing. What to do, what to do…

There was always a way out, always something that she could do. She just had to be clever, be sure…

 _"Go with your instinct,"_ was a common phrase told to her. Her instinct still had yet to fail her.

Absently, she tugged at the rope, eyeing the mast where Alya clutched the crow's nest. The rope secured around her, Ladybug charged, jumping up and grabbing the metal holds, scaling up to join her best friend. Alya leaned over, offering a hand to her and pulling her up into the crow's nest with her, both wincing as the wild winds shoved and slammed against them. They squinted past wind, hair, and rain and sought the dark, angry horizon for some escape.

"It's just an endless dark cloud," Alya shouted over the wind, gripping the wood hard as another gust shoved her, shivering a little at the cold splash that joined it.

"There's always an end," Ladybug encouraged, loosening her rope for a moment, loose enough to pull off her red and black coat, handing it to Alya.

The redhead snatched it up, shivering as she nestled down into the warm coat. A coat Ladybug specially made to be warm and protective, but still light enough to move around quickly. Ladybug leaned on the curving wall for stability as she re-tightened the rope, she made a noise of protest when the wind snatched her hat away.

She peered after it, blinking as she noted a different coloration in the sky.

Her eyes widened. There. That's the edge of the storm, that's where they needed to go. She pointed to it excitedly, shouting, "I see it, Ay! I see it!"

Alya squinted out, spotting what Ladybug saw. Beaming, she cried out, "Calm waters ahead!"

"I'll let Ivan know!" Ladybug declared, climbing over the edge. She ordered, "Keep your eyes on it!" and hurried down. When close to the deck, she jumped off the mast, squeaking when she slipped on the soaked boards. Shaking herself, she got up and hurried to the steering wheel, shouting for where Ivan needed to go.

With a firm nod, Ivan turned the wheel, moving _Chat Noir_ towards the lighter skies, directing the boat through the rough waves. Ladybug turned, eyes set on the horizon.

They'd make it, she thought.

She had a good feeling for this.

Ladybug faltered when _Chat_ tilted tediously, looking up to see a large wave rising high above them. She tensed, paling at the sight of it.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!" she shouted, grabbing her rope and tensing as the water came down. A wall of cold shoved at Ladybug's body, pushing heavily on her and sending her skidding across the floor. The rope tugged painfully at her middle, the frosty water sliding over her form in an angry, suffocating rush. When it slid away, she gasped from where she was on the ground, shivering and coughing.

Around her, her crew coughed and moaned; _Chat_ moaning and creaking around them.

They needed to get out of this quick—

"Help!"

Ladybug's head shot up, looking to see one rope was stretched out and hanging over the rim. She jumped up, racing to it, finding Kim hanging over the edge, too low to grab the ship's railing and pull himself to safety. His rope looked weak, looked ready to snap.

"Captain!" he cried, looking up at her with scared, pleading eyes.

"Hold on!" she cried out, moving onto the railing, feeling the rope around her waist giving her a warning squeeze. She was playing a dangerous game. And as she untied her lifeline, Ladybug willingly raised the stakes.

With a bit more extension, she held tight to the rope, twisting it around her wrist for extra security. She dropped down, quickly grabbing Kim and pulling him up.

Kim frantically grabbed her rope, using it to help get himself over and back on _Chat_. Only as the two started to climb back over, there was a warning roar in the air.

"BRACE YOURSELF!" someone shouted out.

Ladybug and Kim looked up, seeing another wave coming up.

It slammed down on them, rocking Chat violently.

When the cold water dropped away, Kim shivered from where he gripped the railing and the rope, gasping and coughing. This was awful. And when he opened his eyes, he found it was worse.

Ladybug was gone.

* * *

It was dark, cold, and suffocating.

Ladybug knew this for sure as she seemed to float in a black, angry void. Her lungs burned, there was a sting in her eyes and nose. She felt like she was in a constant spin, moving in an aimless direction, the surrounding world a loud yet muffled rush. A world that was rolling her about enough she didn't know which way was up or down.

When she opened her eyes to see, scrambling to find out where she was, what was happening, all she saw were silver blurs racing past her.

Bubbles, she faintly thought.

She could almost feel them. A shy tickling sensation running over her skin, almost feeling like a gentle caress, one that felt soothing as the numbness started to seep into her body.

 _Sleep_.

It was a gentle order in her head, a quiet promise.

 _Sleep_.

The pain in her chest will stop.

The fuzzy dizzy spell that took her mind would lead the way.

 _Just sleep, just fade into the darkness. It'll be ok._

Her eyes closed, her body going limp and just letting this void carry her about.

She barely twitched when she felt something rough cup her face.

She barely registered something soft and warm pressing against her cold lips.

She did feel the hot tingle shooting, and the rush of air blowing through her. She snorted out water and air, a big bubble blasting out of her nose as she coughed and jerked. But the grip on her head stayed, the air continuous. She was faintly aware of moving, feeling water push at her back and glide through her hair.

When she squinted out, she could faintly see green looking back at her.

She closed her eyes again, the sting coming back as her body started to move, awakening and aching. She reached out blindly, feeling something firm and warm under her hands. She reached for it desperately, clinging to it.

In a sudden burst, there was a new sense of cold around her, and she gasped, air and water rushing into her mouth, making her choke and hack. Waves slapped and pushed at her, not giving her a moment to recover, and weak needles pounded on her from above, making her wince.

She could only cling to the firm warmth that held her, eyes stinging, her body aching as she continued to cough.

Exhausted and overwhelmed, she let the darkness sink in on her.

She let herself go, fading away in the arms that held her.


	3. Adrien

Ladybug woke with a ragged gasp, her mouth dry and burning, coughing and hacking at the salt that clung to the back of her throat. She slumped to the ground, tired and shaky, feeling sick. She curled up on her side, rubbing her face against the gritty surface of a rock, loose bits of sand digging back into her. For a moment, she laid still, working her breathing, coughing every now and then, her eyes stinging. A tired moan came out of her as she huddled up, a shiver racing over her. There was comforting heat at her back, the warm sun above shining on her slightly. She wiggled about, getting herself into the heat and letting it seep into her and chase out the cold.

Slowly, she opened her heavy eyes, blinking her eyes rapidly to clear her blurry gaze.

The pattern of a rock greeted her, bits of pale sand scattered on it. She turned her gaze outwards, blinking to see a bright blue sea stretched out before her, a faint dark blur of land just peeking up above the horizon. Her brow furrowed, her mind muddled.

Where was she? What had, what happened…

She squeezed her eyes closed, head throbbing. She groaned, smearing her face against the rock, wincing at the rough surface. There was a storm, she remembered. A big wave and… she…

 _Chat_.

Her ship. She was separated from her ship. She had to get back to her ship. Her crew was left in that storm, a storm that was tossing Chat around like a toy—

She jumped up with a wild shout of "I'm on my way!" ready to hurry back to her ship, ready to help her crew, see them all to safety.

Only, unaware of how close to the edge she was, Ladybug squealed in alarm as she fell back into the ocean, jolting as cold, heavy water curled around her. She jumped when a black, scaly arm shot out and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the water and back onto the rock.

Ladybug froze, looking into familiar green eyes. Green eyes that belonged to a mer. The very black-scaled mer she had freed.

Ladybug jerked away and scrambled across the rock, pressing her back to the stone wall that curved around them, her heart pounding as fear and alarm rang in her head. She wiped her slick bangs aside, looking to see the mer still laid out over the edge of the rock, looking back at her with slight surprise. Then, his black finned ears lowered, his gaze turning cautious.

Placing his black claws on the rock to ground himself, the mer curled his body about to face her and allow his tail to drop into the water. He settled there, resting his human chin on his scaly wrists, bits of black scales dotted around the edge of his cheeks. He gazed to her, his pupils unnervingly thin from the light above.

For a moment, neither breathed a word or even dared move. They just stayed still, gazing at each other.

Warily, Ladybug spared a glance to the horizon, where land was. She couldn't make that. She couldn't dream of ever outswimming a mer. Here, on this rock, she was entirely at his mercy.

"Why did you do it?"

She jumped, turning to him, wide eyed. The mer peered back, his finned ears perked up and attentive.

"D-do what?" she stuttered out, pressing herself further against the rock, not caring that she couldn't go much farther.

Despite her clear fear, the mer didn't move, laying still as he watched her. Instead, he simply answered, "Save me."

Save him? She raised a brow, asking, "You… you wanted to be in net?"

He made a face. "No."

She jumped when he raised his tail, watching water slide down the fins, making black scales shimmer in the light with blue, purple, and green hues. She tensed when he slammed it back into the water, irked at the memory of his capture. He quickly relaxed at her tension, settling back down.

Watching her, he elaborated, "You're a pirate. Why did you save me?"

"Um," she murmured softly, flicking a bit of sand off of her just to keep her hands busy, trying to calm down. "I-I don't know. I just…" Why did she save the mer? Why did she do it?

She jerked when he pulled himself closer to her, dragging himself along the rock. She watched as he lifted himself up slightly, his arms shaking a little to hold his weight. He narrowed his eyes at her, lips a little pursed. She balked when he asked, "You didn't do it to win my fancy, did you?"

"What?" she muttered, gaping at him.

"I heard some humans would try to win a mer's fancy. Also make use of our life debts."

"It is _not_ my intention to win your fancy," she quickly confirmed, cheeks a little pink at the thought. Despite the scales, claws, and fangs, mer were beautiful. The temptation that they were is what made them dangerous. She paused, frowning. She asked, "Life debt?"

"We do like living," the mer revealed, dropping back down to the ground. "So when our lives are saved, we are due to pay back the debt. A life for a life. You saved me, freeing me from those sailors. I owe you now. And I am to stay with you till my debt is paid back."

Marinette blinked at him, staring at the mer. Then she glanced at the rock they were on. Then she glanced to land in the distance.

Catching on, the mer reassured, "My debt hasn't been paid in full yet. You returned me to where I belong, I'm to see you back to where you belong." He turned, eyeing the rolling waves, resting his jaw in his claws as he considered where his debt would end. "That'd be your ship," he murmured.

Chuckling warily, Ladybug said, "Actually, you can just take me to land—"

"No, the ship. I have to get you back to your ship."

"No you, um, you don't really need to—"

"It is mer law," he insisted, holding his claws up to her. "You cannot refuse my debt. Or decide how the debt is paid. You returned me back to the sea, where I belong, I'll return you to your ship, where you belong."

She crossed her arms, grimacing at the mer. She revealed to the stubborn mer, "I don't even know where my ship is."

"That's fine," he said. "There's no time limit to this life debt after all. I'm to stay till it's repaid."

She frowned.

"You sure you're a pirate?" he asked suddenly, tilting his head as he eyed her.

"Yes," she answered.

He hummed thoughtfully, looking like he didn't quite believe her. Ladybug pursed her lips, annoyed. She got that reaction a lot. Largely because she was so small. It lead to a lot of success in her life, being underrated. But it was still an annoyance to hear someone not take her seriously as a pirate. She was very dangerous.

She gave have a start as the mer pulled himself closer to her. He jerked his body up and grabbed onto the ridges of the rock wall she was leaning on, dragging his body closer. With a struggle and a shift, he managed to adjust himself so he was leaning on the wall near her, near enough that he could reach over and touch her easily if he wanted.

With a toothy smile she was sure was meant to be reassuring, he held out his claws to her. "My mother named me Adrien. I'm eager to help you, Miss Pirate."

She stared at him, then glanced down at his claws. A promise he wanted to keep. A promise to help her get back to her ship, back to her Chat Noirby any means, even at the price that he'll be staying with her.

Ladybug wanted to laugh. She, traveling with a mer. A siren, a temptation. A devious reaper of the sea. A deal most people wouldn't take. Putting trust in a mer more often than not led to death. Many sailors would share the stories of their crewmates being lost to a mer, tricked by them.

Taking those claws could be her death.

But, what were her options? She was on a rock, far from land. That distance was too far great for her to swim. She had too limited options to refuse. And… there was the undeniable detail that she was here. She was alive.

This mer, he had saved her from drowning. He brought her back from the clutches of death and took her to safety. If he wanted her dead, she would've died a long time ago. There was no reason she could think of for him to drag on a game of deception. Mers weren't known to be that patient.

He truly wanted to return Ladybug to Chat Noir . He wanted her safely returned to her home.

The mer, Adrien, faltered when she didn't move to take his hand. His smile dropped, his ears going down as his brow furrowed. As his claws started to drop, Ladybug moved, her hand reaching for his.

She faintly heard him suck in a sharp breath, feel his eyes lock onto her hand. He didn't dare move, watching her intently.

Slowly, she slid her hand along his, wrapping tanned fingers around his scales. They were a little rough to the touch, but it wasn't an unnerving sensation. And his claws shaped easily around her hand.

She looked up, meeting his green eyes, peering back. She offered an unsure, but willing smile. "Captain Ladybug," she said.

"Captain Ladybug," he repeated, testing the name on his lips. He quirked a grin. "Strange name," he teased.

"It means I'm lucky," she replied with grin.

Adrien puffed up his chest. "I suppose you are, being saved by me."

She found herself scoffing and rolling her eyes, a little surprised at how easy the gesture came in response to the mer. She pushed the thought away and stood on shaky legs, looking at the land on the horizon, ignoring the mer gazing up at her.

She had a ship to return to.


	4. Under

Ladybug sat huddled up against the rock, arms wrapped around her knees instinctively, trying to trap as much warmth as she could. Even with the harsh, bright sun above, the waves sprayed a frosty chill over her that easily had her soaked and shivering. She wished she still had her coat. Not just for warmth and protection for the sun and cold, salty spray; but also for comfort. To have something big wrapped around her in a comforting layer. Something to help her feel like she was hidden from sight. That she was safe.

Here, left alone on a rock with a vacant horizon as far as she could see, she felt… exposed.

She wasn't on her ship.

She didn't have a crew that she trusted with her.

She was alone, with a mer that had dashed away with an excited babble Ladybug didn't catch.

A mer she wasn't sure was coming back.

Ladybug shivered as one rough wave tried to jump above the rocks, showering her with salt and water. Warily, she peeked out, looking to the distant land mass.

If the mer didn't return soon, she may have to swim for it.

Logically she knew it'd be near impossible; that was a long swim, far too long. She'd more likely drown from exhaustion than make it.

Or die from the the cold.

And then there were currents, currents that could take her farther away from where she wanted, and struggling against them would also be exhausting and—

Ladybug rubbed her forehead to her wrist, wincing as she felt a cold drop slide along her neck.

What choice did she have if the mer didn't come back? Wait for rescue? She didn't know where she was. She didn't know if she was even close to a trade route. And there was the matter of who could come by. There was a reason why pirates were infamous. Sailors and the navy, they wouldn't be kind to her, especially if they discovered she was Captain Ladybug.

She watched the waves rolling about, frowning. There was always driftwood she could use, but who knows how long it'd be before one floated near her. And she could only sit on this rock for so long without food or water.

The land was in sight. It was her best option. And there was a chance. It wasn't impossible. Risky, but not impossible.

Ladybug forced herself to stand on her shaky legs, feeling them tremble beneath her. Grabbing a bit of the wall to lean on, she stared down at the water, readying herself for the cold. Before she could move to the edge, she jumped when something dark burst out of the water. She dropped back on the rock, surprised to see Adrien flop onto it. The mer had a concentrated look on his face as he drew near, slowly dragging himself forward, wiggling a little to help move forward. With a grunt, he lifted his upper chest and dropped against the wall next to her, sighing.

Ladybug eyed him warily. "Hey," she greeted.

He flashed her a toothy smile, holding up a black ring. "I got it!"

She stared at it, brow raised.

She jumped when his claws took her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. She jerked her hand back when she felt a tingle, looking wildly at the ring. "What is this?!" she demanded.

"Enchantment," Adrien easily answered, leaning forward and dropping belly flat on the rock, his black scaled tail curling around him. Digging the heels of his hand into the rock, Adrien pushed himself forward and wiggled and dragged towards the edge. He went head first into the water, foam and bubbles festering from the break.

Ladybug stared after him, then glance at the black ring on her finger. She crawled forward, staring down at Adrien as he peeked up at her. "What sort of enchantment?" Ladybug asked.

"So you can breath underwater," he revealed. "So long as you wear that ring, you can stay underwater for as long as possible. I had thought to use a bubble but… that can be delicate."

"Bubble?" she repeated.

Adrien nodded. "Baby mer can't breath underwater immediately after being born, but it's exhausting and difficult for parents to stay on land. So," Adrien brought both his hands out, presenting Marinette a big bubble. "We make bubbles for babies to sit in. Can't stay in there for too long, though."

He dropped the bubble into the water, letting it float away. "I think you'd be more comfortable with an enchantment than a bubble, plus bubbles are a bit delicate and aren't meant for travel."

"Gotcha," she mumbled, staring after the bubble.

Adrien patted the water, offering her an encouraging smile.

Eyeing the green-gray waves, Ladybug took a deep breath and dropped down into the water. Cold and foam encased her, bubbles curling around her and tracing her skin in a tickling rush. Instinctively, she moved towards the surface, only to jump as claws set on her shoulder, keeping her down.

She looked out, seeing a slightly blurred Adrien floating before her. "Breath," he told her, his voice muffled in the water. "Breath Ladybug."

Her lips stayed sealed shut, instinct and logic arguing against him, her chest starting to ache and burn. She took a chance, breathing in, and was surprised when she breathed in air. She blinked, sparing a glance at the ring.

It was ok.

She was ok.

She was breathing underwater.

Pleased, Adrien drew away, easily and quickly moving through the water. Ladybug watched after him, blinking as he easily disappeared into the dark depths below. He was a black mer; it made sense that he could disappear into the shadows.

Ladybug looked around, narrowing her eyes as she tried to see as far as she could. She could see colors and shapes well enough, could make out what was around her. It was doable. And the water didn't sting her eyes. This, this'd work.

And Ladybug could confess, it was a little wondrous, breathing underwater. More often than not, an ability like this came with a curse.

Ladybug stretched out her arms, slowly moving through the water, her legs kicking to help her move. The ring glinting on her finger every time she flashed it under some light.

"Humans really are slow," Adrien called out, startling Marinette as he suddenly appeared beside her, swimming around her, looking amused.

Ladybug grimaced at him, shooting back in her own muffled voice, "Not exactly in my element here."

"No," he agreed with a laugh, darting away and leaving a trail of bubbles after him. Ladybug moved to go after him, only to jump as he came back, practically appearing before her. "But this is what the ring is for!"

She squealed as he grabbed her wrists and pulled her along, gliding through the water. Adjusting his grip, Adrien pulled her along from one hand alone, both moving through the water with ease.

Ladybug grabbed at Adrien's arm, climbing it up and making a grab for the mer's shoulder, clutching him as she felt the water push at her. To help steady her, his claws wrapped around her middle, keeping her close as he swam. Secured against the mer, Ladybug looked out, taking in the distance grey blue water, watching bubbles glint in the light.

She gave a start when she heard a muffled sound, a sound that was deep and echoing in her head. She tensed when she saw a fuzzy dark shape swimming near them.

A shape she recognized.

Adrien knew it too.

He tightened his grip on Ladybug, drifting a bit a ways from shark, keeping an eye on it.

"It's not going to attack," Adrien reassured. "But I don't want to test it…"

Ladybug agreed.

Adrien sped on, carrying her through the rolling water, dipping and curving about. Ladybug held tight to him, trusting the mer to get her to land. All around her, she heard sounds of the ocean, the rumble of waves and the gurgle of sea creatures. Ladybug peeked over her shoulder, watching the blue world around her shift into one of color, Adrien now taking her over a reef.

The mer dipped down, lingering closer to the coral, his green eyes set warily to the surface. Ladybug could see the black silhouettes of ships sailing above. Ships, she was sure, that would shoot down or capture a mer if they discovered one in their port.

They needed an isolated location, something out of sight, so neither were in danger. Especially Adrien. As infamous as Ladybug was, she wasn't physically known on her own, not when she didn't have her signature colors of red and black.

But a hidden beach or something, that's what they needed.

And perhaps if she's where she thinks they are… Ladybug pushed away from Adrien, swimming to the surface. Ladybug pushed away from Adrien and swam up to the surface. She made a face as water slapped her, blinking past it to the port.

Port Lourv.

This was owned by the Kubdels.

Ladybug smiled, wiping her hair away. They were in luck.

The Kubdels were more focused on their trade and exploration than piracy. So long as no fool tried to steal from them, anyone could hide right under their noses. Adrien peeked out beside her, blinking his green eyes towards the human city. Then he turned his gaze to Ladybug, wary.

She flashed him a confident smile. "I know a beach where we can hide."

Adrien's finned ears perked up, pupils growing with his intrigue. "You do?"

"That way!" she revealed with an eager pointing, struggling to keep herself afloat as waves jostled her. Shaking it off, Ladybug started to swim towards the hidden beach, eager to get someplace private.

She squawked in surprise as she was grabbed around her middle and pulled under, Adrien hurrying them along towards the secret beach.

All the while, she gave him a scowl, with the mer reasoning, "You were taking forever."

Adrien easily found the beach, pausing to peek out and see if it was as empty as Ladybug insisted.

He certainly didn't see any humans there.

Impatient, Ladybug slid away from the mer and swam to the beach, climbing onto the sand on wobbly legs. She dropped down on her side with a sigh, shivering as the air lightly brushed over her wet form. Behind her, Adrien dragged himself out of the water, squirming about like and awkward snake as he climbed onto land.

He flopped down beside Ladybug, watching her curl up and shiver. He tilted his head, frowning.

"You humans get cold easily," he noted.

Ladybug huffed past chattering teeth, "We weren't exactly made to be in the water too long. "

Adrien hummed in agreement. Shifting his body, he curved his tail around Ladybug, awkwardly laying it over her. He recalled humans covering other human when they were cold.

Adrien had his tail to offer… well, he could lay on her but he doesn't think that would be appreciated.

Mers for sure we're touchy with space.

Ladybug sat up, looking past grey fins of Adrien's tail to land. She revealed to the blond, "There's a cave just beyond those trees." She hugged herself, shivering. "I'm going to make a fire there."

Adrien blinked at her, finned ears rising with interest. "Fire?" he echoed.

"It's a source of heat and light. And it'll probably dry you out."

She stood and wobbled up the beach, the sinking sand not helping her unsteady legs. Adrien peered after her, ears still perked high with curiosity. Ignoring Ladybug warning, he followed her, dragging himself up the beach, pushing his tail into the sand to help move him forward.

Moving past the bushes, Adrien dropped to the ground, watching Ladybug gather up dried leaves and sticks, setting them on a rock and having the sticks lean on each other. Adrien rested his chin on his arms, pointing out, "That's not light. Or heat."

"It's not ready yet, Adrien," Ladybug replied, resisting a shiver.

Adrien watched as she grabbed two small rocks and smacked them together. Over and over again he did, till Adrien sat a flash. He blinked, ears perking up at the spark.

Ladybug scraped the rocks till she got another spark, grinning as it caught onto her pile.

Adrien rose slightly as this fire started to chirp and snap, an orange glow starting to flare at the bottom. Ladybug laid on the ground, softly blowing at the little flame, helping it grow and rise. As soon as the flame was going, she kept close to it, taking in as much heat as she could.

Adrien, unable to deny his curiosity, dragged himself closer, laying near Ladybug to watch the fire. He could feel the heat now as it pressed uncomfortably against his face, his eyes hurting slightly from the light and yet he found himself unable to look away.

He jumped when a hand was set on his shoulder, turning to see Ladybug's gaze on him.

"Don't touch the fire," she said.

Adrien was about to reply that he wasn't, only to realize that he had been drawing close to that fire. He quickly draw away, the dirt hissing as his tail shifted on the soil.

"How did you summon it?" Adrien asked.

"I made it," Ladybug corrected. "You can make fire so long as you have something that can burn. And make a spark." She dared huddle a little closer, another weak shiver running over her. "If you don't mind," she murmured, "I'd like to lay by the fire awhile..."

Adrien didn't mind at all.

The mer settled down close to Ladybug, letting himself fall into a trance as he watched the hot colors dance and sway, faintly listening to Ladybug's breath even out.

He was utterly entranced.


	5. The Hooman City

Ladybug woke with a start, her body jerking upright a fright, feeling like she had just been dropped to the ground. Her blue eyes locked onto the fire she had made, a dwindling flame dancing on ash. She looked about her surroundings, seeing they were among the underbrush, hidden from sight. And evidently close to the shore as she could still hear the ocean roar, waves huffing as the pushed at the beach.

She sat up, hair bouncing on her shoulders. She looked down, seeing the mer asleep beside her, head nestled in his arms.

She eyed him, looking over the lovely danger.

Physically, ignoring the ears, teeth, claws, and eyes; he was handsome. He was handsome, even appealing. It was the dangerous allure of mers, tempting humans with their physique. Even now, she could see Adrien going through his shift, his finned ears smaller and turning peek, starting to look more human. Even the scales on his arms were starting to recede.

Adrien was looking more human. Looking more natural. Whether to unconsciously tempt her or trying to blend in since he was on land, she didn't quite know.

She did hear that mers could change their appearance at will, but didn't expect to see it happen this fast.

Ladybug turned to her little fire, stifling out the flame, leaving a thin smoke trail to curl away from it.

She rose up and stretched with a hum, feeling bones pop back into place. She glanced down when she heard a rattle, seeing the mer roll onto his side, still sleeping away.

For a fleeting thought, she considered leaving. She could escape the mer here, slip into town, try to find her ship and crew on her own. The mer wouldn't be foolish enough to follow. At least she didn't think he was…

She turned her gaze towards the direction of Port Lourv.

It was a good walk away, and she's seen Adrien move on land. She could keep ahead of him easily enough.

"Thinking of leaving?"

Ladybug looked down, seeing Adrien peer up at her with half-lidded eyes, his head tilted to her.

Ladybug answered, "No."

Adrien hummed, not sounding entirely convinced but didn't push the issue. Instead he rolled onto his side and stretched, tail curling behind him. He flopped back on his belly and looked up to her, his gaze far more awake now.

"To the city?" he asked.

"Um…" Ladybug waved to him, her hand lingering towards his tail.

"I can blend in!" Adrien reassured. "But I'll need clothes. At least pants."

Ladybug blushed a little, raising a brow at the declaration.

"Mer can turn into humans," Adrien revealed, leaning on his hand. "I can hold my transformation for a long time."

"How long is a long time?" she asked warily.

"A few days," he answered. "Though I'll need pants. For sure. You humans seem to prefer your modesty."

She raised a brow back to him. "Mermaids seem to like covering themselves too."

"They do it more as a necessity than actual want," Adrien replied. Then he pulled himself along the ground, to where the human city was. "It's this way, right?" he asked.

Ladybug watched the mer slowly move along, shaking her slightly. Drawing near, she bent down and touched his back. The mer froze under touch, his almost human ears twitching.

Ladybug slid her arms around him and with a grunt, lifted up the mer, shuffling back a little at the sudden weight.

Adrien gasped in surprise, flailing a little and grabbing Ladybug's arms, looking down at the ground below. Adjusting her grip, Ladybug moved forward, not minding the rough scales brushing against her.

"I-I would've been fine," Adrien protested.

"Would've taken forever," Ladybug corrected.

Adrien's tail flicked childishly, unwittingly bouncing off a log and making Ladybug fumble.

"...Seriously?"

"Sorry."

Huffing, she readjusted her grip on the mer, this time half carrying him, half dragging him, his tail leaving a trail behind them. She stopped near a pool and dropped the mer into the water. Adrien quickly spun about, peeking out above the top to peer at her.

Ladybug crouched down, checking, "So, pants?"

"Pants," Adrien confirmed. He rose up, stressing, "Don't think about trying to sneak away from me! I'll find you anytime you set sail at sea!"

"I won't," she sighed. "I did agree to the deal."

Adrien grinned.

Ladybug peered into the pool he was in thoughtfully, her gaze lingering on the hollow caves at the bottom. She pointed to them, she asked, "Do you think those go to the ocean?"

Adrien glanced down at them. "Maybe?"

"You think you can find some sort of treasures? Pearls? Lost coins?"

"I could find some," Adrien said. "Why?"

"While I can steal a lot, it'd be easier to just buy what we need. So as much as you can find…"

"Consider it done!" Adrien chirped.

"And while you're gone, I'll grab clothes," Ladybug said.

Adrien nodded.

"Be back in a bit," she told him, slipping away, very aware of the honey green eyes following her. Adrien dove down, darting down the tunnels to search for treasures.

With her clothes relatively dry and not wearing her colors, Ladybug easily slipped into Port Lourv unnoticed. Relaxing, Ladybug moved like she belonged and keeping under everyone's nose. It was the best way to sneak around. Move like you belong, anything suspicious or out of the ordinary would just draw attention.

Ladybug spotted a drying line, a worn shirt, underwear, and pants hanging to dry. They looked about Adrien's size. Shooting a quick glance around, Ladybug unhooked them, gathering them up in her arms, acting like they were hers. The clothes in her possession, she slipped away back into the woods.

Nearing the pool, she called out, "These should fit but if not I should be able to—"

Ladybug froze.

Adrien turned to her, grinning as he was leaning back on the ground, held up by his arms and was utterly nude. Right next to a small chest he had set down beside him.

"Oh hi! You got me clothes?" he asked happily.

Face going red, Ladybug threw the clothes at the mer, making him grunt and nearly tilting him into the pond.

"Get those on!" she ordered, rushing away, still red.

Mers really didn't have much modesty...

* * *

"You humans really are touchy about that," Adrien noted as he came near, fully dressed now much to her relief. She frowned when she saw him plucking at his clothes.

She drew near, moving his hands away and overlooking the white shirt and brown pants. "Too tight?" she asked.

"No, they fit fine," he answered, a shy smile on his lips. "Just not used to wearing clothes."

She hummed. She bid, "Try to get used to it. We can be overlooked then." She picked up the chest, grunting a little as she set it on a near log. Adrien had found enough coin to get everything they needed easily.

Adrien blinked, frowning. He asked, "What's normal behavior?"

Ladybug sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Ok, just don't poke anyone or anything. Don't eat fish, they're not free here. We're just here to grab some food, water, and a boat. A compass would be nice too."

"I could provide some food," Adrien offered.

"And something to cook it in," Ladybug added.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, looking towards the port. They'd need to keep a look out for a decent sized boat. Something big enough to carry all the necessities.

And Ladybug would know what she wanted when she saw her options.

She blinked when Adrien leaned over, his face close to hers. She jerked back with a surprised noise, blinking at him rapidly.

"So, are we going or what?" he asked, barely batting an eye at her jerk away

She gave him a flat look. "We are," she confirmed, tugging at her clothes. "Just thinking over all we'll need."

"And that place will have it all?" Adrien asked, pointing to the port, his other hand tugging at his clothes.

"Port Lourv has a lot," Ladybug said.

"Let's go then!" Adrien declared, stumbling away, kicking his feet about as the pant leg rubbed on his skin weirdly.

"Hey wait!" Ladybug cried out behind him, grabbing the chest and hurrying after the mer turned human. Catching up to him, Ladybug slowed him down, having the two walk towards the port city.

Adrien slowed beside her, blinking at the bustling city by the sea. Cities he'd only seen at a distance, too afraid to come close to them, as humans hated mers. Even being human, he had been shy to come near humans.

Of course the one time he'd come close to humans, he found himself in a net, hung out in the open air to dry and humiliated. That was until miss pirate freed him. And now he had this chance to see a human city.

Their homes were made of wood like many of the ships humans sailed in. And they were all squared, and many of them Adrien found he could see into. And smoke. Smoke came out of the homes here. And there were so many people, and some even stranger animals.

There were large round beasts that looked like they walked on stick legs.

There were smaller animals that had similar eyes to mers, that seemed to give Adrien the evil eye as he walked by them.

And when a similar looking animal trotted up, a curling tail wagging about, Adrien stumbled away as the animal stuck its face close to him, black nose twitch. Ladybug grabbed him, pulling him away from that small animal. Only it followed, sticking it's tongue out, tail wagging.

"What is that?" Adrien wondered, a little alarmed and very much intrigued, green eyes locked on the animal. Especially with how the creature persisted to follow. Was that good? Was that bad? It didn't seem dangerous so Adrien wasn't too unnerved.

"A dog," Ladybug answered without looking back. "Usually friendly, though some will be aggressive."

"Dog," Adrien repeated. They sounded like dolphins. Dolphins who can be too playful sometimes, especially with a lone mer. Adrien can certainly share some tales of a pod coming and bouncing him about for fun.

The dog caught sight of the other smaller animal, and Adrien jumped when it sounded out an alarm, charging at the smaller animal that seemed to be watching Adrien. He watched the smaller animal hiss angrily, body arching up and fur puffing up. It turned and ran off, the dog chasing it.

Tugging at Ladybug's shirt, he pointed after it, asking, "And that?"

"A cat."

"Cat," Adrien repeated.

Ladybug spared a glance after the cat, and humorously mused, "I wonder if cats would be interested in you."

"Why?"

"Cats like to eat fish."

Adrien scoffed at that. "I'm too big for a cat to eat."

Ladybug grinned. "There are far bigger cats out there."

Adrien blinked wildly at her, wide eyed. "How big?" he wondered.

"Some as big as that donkey," she revealed, pointing to the strange, round animal with sticks legs. Which was a decent sized animal.

"That's a big cat," Adrien mumbled.

"Oh yeah."

His ears caught a loud cry and he turned, seeing a woman hold up a squirming bundle. His pupils grew with interest, locked on what the woman held. Sparing a fast glance to Ladybug, seeing her occupied with another human, Adrien drew near, intrigued to see what the woman carried, what was making that sound.

Instinctively he wanted to tug it to his chest, arms wrapped protectively around it, and flat on the surface, being rocked by lazy waves. Adrien drew near enough to see it when the woman turned.

There against her shoulder was a small, pinched up face of a baby. He sucked in breath, puiks thinning in his awe. It was so small. And it looked so delicate.

The baby squirmed against the mother's hold, showing Adrien a tiny fist and bright brown eyes. The little one let out another frustrated cry, face pinching up and going red. Instinctively, Adrien drew near, offering the baby a finger, letting his scales come back a cover the appendage.

The baby went quiet, stay at the black finger. It reached out, grabbing Adrien's finger and giving it a hard squeeze.

Adrien smiled, stretching out his finger to run it over a soft wrist.

This was a human baby. They were so similar to mers. So small and squishy, full of life and yet so delicate. He wanted to blow bubbles at the baby it was so cute.

The woman moved away and the baby lost their grip on Adrien's finger. Big eyes stared after Adrien and he smiled as the baby waved after him.

Utterly adorable.

Adrien jumped when a barrel rolled up near him, liquid interior swishing. He blinked down at his, head tilting as he stared down at. He pointed to it, asking, "What is that?"

"Sauerkraut," Ladybug answered, making a face.

"Do you not like it?"

"Nope."

"Why do you have it?" he wondered.

"Prevents scurvy." She handed him the chest and scooped up the barrel with a grunt. "Come on," she ordered, "there's more to buy." Adrien followed her throughout the port, not minding her grabbing him a few times and dragging him along when he got distracted.

For Adrien, it was a very cool day.


	6. To the Sea

Ladybug stretched, her arms reaching to the sky. She hummed contently as she felt the heat of the sun pressing at her back, easily seeping past the baggy brown coat she grabbed at the port. She slouched with a sigh, moving with the boat's sway, rocking along rough waves.

She smiled, looking to the broad, stretched out sea before her. She had a feeling that it was going to be a good day. Maybe the fortune god Tikki would smile down upon her, and she'll be reunited with _Chat_ soon.

Her gaze jerked to the water below as Adrien burst out of the surface, jumping and rushing through the water, giddy to be back on the open waters. Ladybug jumped away before the playful mer could get any ideas about splashing her. The coat she got would help her with the cold spray of the sea but a wave caused by a mer? Nope. Ladybug wasn't in the mood for that.

Slipping into the small cabin, Ladybug went to the chest Adrien found, opening it to count the coins. There wasn't much left, this ship and provisions had taken out a big chunk of what was in here. There were barely enough coin to cover the bottom of the chest.

The boat rocked, dipping vicariously to the left. Closing the chest, she hurried out to find Adrien struggling to climb onto the deck, a squirming fish in his mouth. His hands clawing at the wood, his tail smacking against the side to push himself up. Ladybug grabbed his wrists and pulled him up with a grunt. Safely on board, he dragged himself to the cabin's wall and settling against it. Content, he started to tear into his prize.

"Lunch for you?" Ladybug guessed, leaning over to eye the water.

"You already have some food for you," Adrien said.

"And you have to eat a raw fish on the boat."

"A dolphin almost stole it!" Adrien revealed.

To back him claim, a dolphin skimmed along the surface, drawing near the boat and looking up with dark eyes. It disappeared back into the deep when it didn't find the mer.

"They steal your food often?" Ladybug guessed.

"Yes," Adrien huffed, "they'll go after lone mer, either to play or steal their food." Adrien smacked his tail on the deck. "I'm never in the mood for them."

She cracked a grin. "Alright, just don't get blood everywhere. The last thing I want is to attract a shark." Sharks never bothered her before, but she did have a bigger ship than this. With how big some can get, especially great whites, she didn't want to risk them tipping this boat over.

Adrien hummed, rocking his fin absently. "Depends on the shark," he said, "some will leave you alone."

"And some can easily tip over this boat, intentionally or not."

He smiled at her sheepishly, not able to deny that. As Adrien finished his meal, he watched Ladybug move about the ship, gathering things up, opening the sail, and moving to take the wheel, directing the boat on where to go.

Adrien tossed away the fish when he was full and crawled up the steps, joining Ladybug on top of the cabin. He laid near her, chin on his arms, looking out to the open sea, feeling the window blow at him, rustling up his hair.

"This is nice," he murmured.

"It's one of the things I love most about sailing," Ladybug said. "It can be very peaceful."

He spared her a glance, watching her dark hair get pulled by the wind, shimmering with hues of blue. He looked to her pale peach skin, noting faded brown spots dotted over her nose. He noted the blue of her eyes, as blue as the sky above. His tail rose up, swaying back and forth in a lazy fashion. He asked, "Is that what drew you to the ocean? That made you decide to sail?"

She snorted. "No, in truth, I didn't have much choice coming to sea."

His finned ear perked up, Adrien blinking curiously. "You didn't come to the ocean willingly?"

She met his gaze, asking, "Ever heard of Captain Jagged Stone?"

"Name rings a bell," Adrien said. There were a lot of pirates out there though. Most mer didn't quite bother keeping up with all of them. They either stayed away, or confronted whoever crossed their paths. A human was a human.

"King André Bourgeois had his soldiers ransack the port I was living in, and Captain Jagged Stone took the chance to attack during the chaos. I got separated from my parents during that raid, and Captain Jagged found me. When he snatched me up, I thought he was going to feed me to his crocodile Fang."

Ladybug chuckled, adjusting a brown hat she wore. "He's got a soft spot for kids, though he did tell me that they needed a new brat to scrub the decks." She rolled her eyes. "When he saw that I showed promise as a pirate, started to mentor me. It's thanks for him that I'm Captain Ladybug." Giving Adrien a wink, she added, "Some even call me Miss Fortune."

Adrien blinked at the wink. He looked away, trying it for himself. "That's why you became a pirate?" he asked, practicing his winking.

"Well, originally, I agreed for the chance to find my parents again, and get revenge on King Bourgeois. Which I did. I stole away his daughter, she's now one of the meanest pirates of my crew."

Adrien laughed. "Royal mers wouldn't take kindly to that at all!"

"Now," Ladybug continued, "I just pirate for myself. I've given up trying to find my parents. I haven't seen them since I was six."

Adrien eyed her, taking in her small smile. He rolled over till he bumped into her leg and loosely curled around her. Ladybug glanced down at him, seeing the mer smile softly up at her. He said, "You may still find them. Life is long and full of surprises."

She chuckled. "Maybe, maybe not. The only thing you can do is live life."

The two settled into a comfortable silence, listening to the lull of the waves, rocking with the boat as it tipped and swayed, going with the push of the waves. With the rocking and the warm sun above, Adrien found himself nearly asleep when Ladybug softly, almost shyly, asked, "What about you?"

"Hm?" he hummed sleepily.

"Why are you alone?"

His black scaled tail twitched, shimmering in the light. Ladybug stayed quiet, accepting the vague answer. Mers with black scales were always alone she heard, and the few mers she's seen together, none ever had black scales. Black scales were lonely scales.

* * *

Ladybug watched the needle of the compass dart about, side to side, looking amber in the lantern's low light. She sighed, sparing a glance towards north, where they're currently aimlessly sailing. This was the real challenge here, finding Chat Noir in this grand ocean. And her ship wasn't sailing to any destination, and being through about by the storm, it was hard to know where _Chat Noir_ would've sailed.

If damaged, Alya would aim for a port for repair, but _Chat_ was an obvious pirate ship. She'd dock Ladybug's ship just outside the port and buy supplies.

But where? There were a lot of ports, and there's no way of knowing where the storm took _Chat_.

She sighed, closing her compass and sitting down by the lantern, not minding Adrien when the sleeping mer rolled over and pressed at her back. She looked out to the dark waters, thoughtful.

She blinked when she saw something, on the horizon, something that looked like a certain shape. Or… did she?

Wary, Ladybug put out the lantern, looking to where she last saw the figure on the horizon. Her heart pounded as she searched, praying to whatever god that will listen that it was just a trick of a light.

The moon peeked out past the clouds and she saw it.

A pirate ship.

Sailing their way, no doubt drawn in by the lantern light.

Muttering a swear, Ladybug jumped to her feel, making Adrien hum in protest as he fell over, no longer supported by her. "Adrien!" she called, shaking his shoulder. "Adrien you need to go!"

He cracked his eyes open, blinking at her sleepily. "Why?" he yawned.

"Pirates," she hissed.

When he only blinked, still too sleepy to process what she was saying, she grabbed him and pulled him towards the edge of the boat. Adrien yelped and struggled, stuttering, "L-Ladybug?! What? What are you—"

"This is for your own good!" she grunted out, throwing the mer over boards. She didn't bother waiting to see if he came back up, she ran back to the wheel, tugging at the rope to open the sail and push this boat forward. Heart pounding heavily in her chest, she turned to spare a glance back to where she last saw the ship.

It was still following her.

And easily catching up.

"Damn," Ladybug muttered, looking around, trying to think. Behind her, she could hear the roar of water being shoved aside and the creak up the looming ship. It was on her.

Gripping the teeth of the wheel tightly, Ladybug gave it a sharp spin, turning the boat to the right and dodging the ship behind him. She could faintly hear the shouts and jabs of the crew above, locked on the ship that had just evaded them.

Ladybug spared a glance to the flag, hoping to see just who she was dealing with.

She sucked in a stiff breath when she caught sight of the flag.

A purple butterfly with white lightning scattered over it.

This ship was _Akuma_ , and she was dealing with Captain Hawkmoth.

Distracted, Ladybug didn't see the net thrown at her till it landed on her ship, sending her to the floor. Ladybug struggled to get out as the crew of Akuma slid down the ropes, their laughter and hoots growing louder and louder. She watched them come upon her, her heart beating a mile a minute.

This was not good.


	7. Mad Fish

Ladybug kicked and thrashed as she was pulled across the deck, the rope biting into her body, her head ringing with the cries, cheers, and hoots of the surrounding crowd. She was dropped to the ground at someone's feet, gritting her teeth as chortles filled the air.

"Well, well, well," a deep, amused voice called out; drawing her gaze up to had to be Captain Hawkmoth. The man grinned down at her, his gaze amuse and curious. "A girl, sailing by herself at night? Don't you know there are pirates in these waters?"

The crew cackled towering over her, their voices booming and overwhelming.

"I'm very much aware sir," Ladybug said, letting her unease seep into her voice, letting herself seem small. While the Captain and crew chuckled and snickered, she looked them all over, sizing them up and getting the layout of _Akuma_ .

She thinks she can outrace them up the mast. And if Adrien was close, maybe she could jump into the water. He should have enough sense to get them far away.

She faced Hawkmoth as he crouched down, grinning down at her. "Why are you out sailing by yourself, little girl."

"I'm visiting my parents sir," she lied, "please, I mean no trouble."

The captain hummed, grabbing her chin and turning her head about. "I'm sure," Hawkmoth murmured, "and I promise you, I don't intend to cause you trouble, well, not much." Ladybug bit her lip, struggling to not narrow her eyes. "I am very intrigued by that little trick you pulled. Not many sailors, even the best, know that trick."

"My uncle taught me that trick," Ladybug said.

"Really?" Hawkmoth asked. "Who is your uncle? Perhaps I know him."

"He's not famous," she immediately answered.

Hawkmoth hummed, standing up and looming over her, setting his cane near her. "I have a feeling that he is. And I have a feeling I've seen you before."

Ladybug's blood went cold.

Oh no.

Oh no, no, no.

"I'm just a baker's daughter," she insisted. "I'm not important."

"Maybe you aren't," Hawkmoth said, "or maybe you are. I'd like to think on it for a few days."

"Sir—"

Hawkmoth grabbed her chin, opening her mouth and looking in. "Teeth are desired, I hear. And hair, the lovelier, the better the price. And certainly the bo—"

Ladybug bit his hand, making the captain jerk back. With a scowl, he pulled his hand back. Ladybug braced for the blow, glaring up at him.

Only it never came.

"I never see potential foiled," Hawkmoth said, dropping his hand. He pointed his cane to her, the crystal end just inches from her neck. "Especially curious potential. I say you're a bit too fierce for a mere baker's daughter."

Ladybug grimaced.

"Take her to the brig," Hawkmoth ordered.

Ladybug hissed as she was grabbed once again and dragged away, Hawkmoth staring after her smugly.

On the side of _Akuma_ , a certain mer was making the wood creak in protest as his claws sunk into it, hard enough to make it splinter and crack. From where he was peering over the railing, he could see it all. And his thin pupils followed Ladybug as she was dragged along, seeing her get taken below. With a soft rumble, Adrien jerked his claws out and swung along the hull, using his tail to help with the momentum.

If this pirate thought he could imprison Ladybug easily, he had another thing coming.

Mers were devoted to their debts, and were dangerous beings to misplease.

And this pirate has certainly displeased him.

* * *

Alya often laughed in awe of Ladybug improvisation; Chloe in turn often scoffed at it. She grumbled that it was inconceivable just how Ladybug was able to use anything to escape and get around obstacles when it seemed like she had nothing to use. And yet, Ladybug was always able to find away.

"Impossible," was a common grumble Ladybug heard.

But that's just what Ladybug did. She could make the impossible possible, she could get around every challenge life throws at her.

At least, she has been able to so far.

She had faith in her capabilities to get out of this. She had two escorts, in front and behind, all three of them moving in a steady pace. With a mischievous smile, Ladybug deemed that she could work with this. When she was sure that they were deep enough that no one would hear, she dropped to a crouch without warning, tripping the thug behind her and sending him toppling into the thug in front. Both squawked in surprise as the fell, and as they struggled and scrambled to get up, both knocking into each other; Ladybug jumped up on them.

Skulls knocked hard together from the sudden force, leaving them out cold in a heap. Ladybug hopped off and wiggled one foot out of her boot.

Sticking her tongue out in concentration, she stretched her foot out, balancing on the other tediously, and struggled to pull the thug's knife out from its halter.

"Come on, come on," she whispered, teetering as she wiggled the knife between her toes, slowly pulling it out.

"Yes!" she cried as she got it out, only to drop it in surprise when she heard stomping above. Ladybug turned her wide eyes up, concerned about the chaos.

"Adrien," she whispered.

She dropped down, bending back till her hand found the knife. Sticking her tongue out in concentration, she sawed away at the ropes and freed herself. She stood, giving the two unconscious grunts a mocking salute and tore back upstairs, heart pounding, knowing that it had to be Adrien causing all the chaos up there. A mer can do a lot. They had sharp teeth and a strong jaw, strong arms and sharp claws, and a muscle-packed tail that could easily send humans flying with a single slap. And if a mer couldn't stop sailors physically alone, there was magic. All mers could do magic.

It's what made them so feared.

What made sailors dread coming across a mer.

But with her down below, Adrien wouldn't use his magic to sink the ship. Not when there was a risk that she could die. That left him tackling this ship head on, and even as strong as he was and dangerous as he could be, he was only one mer against a whole crew.

What was he thinking?!

Ladybug burst up onto the deck, barely having enough time to dodge a body thrown her way. As the poor grunt fell down the stairs, she turned to see Adrien in the center of the crowd, his human half practically covered in black scales, his jaws bared to flash his teeth, finned spikes flaring along his tail's back and up his forearms, ready to pierce and bite at anyone they could reach. His eyes, Ladybug saw, were black, barely a smudge of green in his furious gaze.

"Pin him down!" she heard Hawkmoth shout. "Don't kill him! I don't want that mer dead!"

Adrien rose up, leaning on his long tail and slashing wildly at anyone that was close, before he dropped down back onto his stomach, hissing and growling.

"Adrien!" Ladybug shouted, watching a finned ear twitch towards her voice. Black eyes locked on her and Ladybug hurried near, shouting, "I'm ok! We need to go, Adrien! Let's go!"

He snarled sharply, making her pause for a second before running to him. She jumped over the mer, slamming into a pirate coming at him from behind. Adrien's tail rose up, slamming that man down to the ground.

Ladybug hurried to Adrien's side, grabbing his middle. She winced when his ridged scales rubbed against her skin. "We need to go!" she cried out past his growls, wincing as he jerked and snapped in her hold, his gaze still locked on the nearing pirates.

Adrien wasn't moving.

It was like he was locked in a rage, locked on fighting these pirates, on staying. Ladybug looked around, desperate for a way out, for a way to secure their escape. She spotted barrels with big x's on them, and with the knife she stole, she threw it out towards the barrels. The knife bit at the leg of a nearing pirate, one luckily holding a torch that fell towards the barrels.

One, unfortunately for Hawkmoth, was leaking.

An explosion flared on the _Akuma_ , and Ladybug and Adrien went flying off the ship. Her ears ringing, she was barely aware of Adrien grabbing her, pulling her close against his body as the two fell down to the sea below.

The slap of water was cold, rattling, and loud. Frozen from the shock, Adrien pulled her up to the surface, Ladybug cringing and coughing as she held tight to the still growling mer.

"B-boat," she managed out. "Our… boat."

Adrien emitted a sound and pulled Ladybug along, arms still wound securely around her. Shivering and holding him tight, Ladybug peeked over his scaly shoulder to see their boat, tied to _Akuma_ and in reach.

Adrien sunk his claws into the wood and pulled them both up. Ladybug wrapped her arms around the mer's shoulders, leaving his other claws free to pull them over board. On deck, Ladybug dropped to the ground and Adrien slid by, biting at the rope that chained them to _Akuma_.

Free, they drifted away, leaving shouts and screams behind the pirate ship.

Woozy, Ladybug sat up, turning around to look upon _Akuma_ one last time. Adrien stood at the back, still standing guard and growling at the burning ship, still defensive.

On the edge of the ship, his silhouette dark against the burning fire behind him, Captain Hawkmoth watched them go.

With a shiver, Ladybug laid back down, curling up and hugging herself.

She didn't have a good feeling about this.

* * *

Ladybug woke slowly from where she lay on the deck, listening to the roll of the waves, aware of the body pressed against hers. She blinked, finding herself lying in the shadows, safely out of the sun. She looked over to her left, seeing Adrien lying right beside her, sleeping away. His human appearance had returned, although there were a few black scales around his skin. Even the spines were disappearing, sinking back into his arms, gone until he was in danger again.

Licking her salty lips and noting the dryness in her mouth, Ladybug slowly stretched out. Adrien made a displeased sound at her move and shuffled away. The pirate ignored him and sat up, staring down at his tail laying over her lap. Sliding that off, she stood on wobbly legs and teetered across the small deck to the cabin. She opened it, relieved to see that the crew of the Akuma hasn't taken any of her provisions.

Adrien had probably attacked before they could.

She went to her water supply, pulling up the barrel's lid and practically shoving her face in, gulping down the drink. She withdrew with a sigh, cupping some and smearing it over her face and neck, feeling heavy drops slide down her back.

She glanced to the cabin's wall, eyeing the map she pinned up.

What she knew of Hawkmoth was that he was one of the cruelest pirates to ever sail the sea.

And he was a vengeful pirate.

She doesn't doubt that he would be hunting her down. That he would want to extract revenge for the stunt she pulled, for the damage done to _Akuma_.

She sighed, feeling tired, she needed _Chat_ , she needed to get back to her ship. If she ever crossed paths with Hawkmoth again, Chat Noir would be her best bet against him and his _Akuma_. But, she had time at least. Akuma was damaged and would need repairs. She still had time.

She turned to the door, hearing scales dragged over wood.

Adrien flopped down in the doorway, looking up to her sleepily.

"Hey," she greeted, "you doing ok?"

"Worn out," he confirmed, yawning. "It is cooler in here." He dragged himself further in, settling on the floor.

Ladybug sat next to him, brow furrowed. "What was that?" she asked. "You had just wanted to stay and fight…"

He gave a tired chuckle, his tail sliding closer to slightly curl around him. "I'm a child of the sea," he said softly. "When pushed, the sea can become rather… savage."

Ladybug nodded, getting that. She spared the mer a glance, watching him lull off. Quietly, she told him, "I'm going to direct up to another port city, maybe _Chat Noir_ landed at one and I can catch some gossip. Some sort of lead to _Chat_ ."

Adrien hummed, too out of it to offer any input.

She reached over, pausing when her hand was inches from his head. Slowly, she slid her fingers into his hair, running them over his scalp, pausing when she brushed against a scaly ear, making it twitch.

"Thank you for saving me," Ladybug murmured.

Ladybug stood and slipped out, leaving the door open for the mer anytime he was ready to come back outside. Left alone, Adrien curled up till he was coiled up like a snake, a soft, pleased smile on his lips.


	8. To Port Eiffel

Adrien woke slowly, blinking heavy eyes, staring at the cabin wall. He squinted at the light that poured in from the windows, too bright for his eyes. With a groan, he shifted on the floor, curling up all the tighter, trying to drift off again. His body was throbbing, his skin and scales felt tight and stiff, and he had a terrible headache. Adrien released another groan, flopping about with a frustrated whine.

He wanted to sleep this discomfort away, fall back into the peaceful void. But try as he might, he just couldn't fall back asleep. He stared tiredly at the ceiling, finned ears catching a loud song that gulls were singing. They twitched when they heard soft steps above, Ladybug no doubt moving about.

Adrien rested a wrist over his eyes, nuzzling the crook of his elbow, feeling small scales rub at his cheek. For a moment, he just laid, feeling the boat sway, listening the gulls, the waves, and Ladybug. Slowly, Adrien found himself drifting off, finally settling back into dormancy.

Only to be jerked away when there was a squeal and a _thud_.

Adrien rose up, twisting around to look outside, finned ears perked high, his body tense. Are they under attack again? Was it Hawkmoth? Another pirate? Sailors?

He only saw Ladybug lying on the floor, faintly hearing her mutter to herself.

Tilting his head curiously, Adrien twisted around and grunted as he pulled himself along the floor, arms sore and protesting. He flopped down heavily beside her, arms stretched out before him. He leaned his chin on his bicep, staring at the pirate.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I missed the last step," Ladybug mumbled, pulling her arms close and resting her chin on her wrists, pouting at the floor.

He cracked a toothy smile, his tail curling in amusement.

"Shut up," Ladybug huffed.

"I didn't say anything," Adrien said.

"I could see it in your smile."

That just made Adrien's smile grow.

With a loud groan, Ladybug rolled onto her back and stretched. She squinted at the bright blue sky above, watching the gulls soar above them, singing loud and off key. Adrien moved to echo her, then decided that was just too much. He settled down, content with where he lay.

"So, how far till the next port?" he asked.

"A few hours," Ladybug said. "We're going to Port Eiffel. A bigger port than Louvre, but if we want to catch word about _Chat_ , that's probably the best place." Ladybug rubbed her face, letting her hands rest over her eyes. She mumbled, "I hope."

She grunted when the end of Adrien's tail dropped on her stomach with enough force to jerk her up, her hands clutching the tail. She narrowed her eyes at Adrien's cheeky grin. Ladybug jumped to her feet, hauling the mer by his tail, ignoring his sound of surprise.

"You're looking a little dry!" she declared and pulled him up, teetering a little from his weight and imbalance. His body curving around hers, but she managed to throw him overboard.

Ladybug shook her head at the splash, blinking saltwater out of her eyes and watching white foam ride the surface of the curving water. She saw Adrien just as he was coming back up, jerking away as he broke the surface. A smile slid up her lips as she avoided the water, giving the laughing mer a half-hearted glare. With a cheeky grin, Adrien dove back under, darting under the surface, twisting, turning; just moving . The stiffness of in his skin was gone, his spirits lifted and soul reenergized.

As of now, Adrien had a good feeling for today. It was all going to work out.

* * *

As the ship drew near Port Eiffel, Adrien couldn't help but peek over the edge of the ship, gripping the railing to help hold himself up as he looked upon the second human city they were visiting. He was awed to find that Port Eiffel was even bigger than Louvre. Ladybug wasn't kidding about that.

It was so much bigger, went farther inland, and was big enough to cover the whole beach and then some. There were buildings galore as far as Adrien could see. And there was even a huge tower that loomed over the port. According to Ladybug, the port was named after that very tower. The Eiffel Tower, she called it. Adrien hoped Ladybug would be up to go see it. Adrien would very much like to go see it. Mers certainly never had such things built, no cities as grand as this. And Ladybug had even said that there were even bigger cities out there.

This was big enough already for Adrien, he couldn't quite imagine what a bigger city looked liked. How much bigger? Did they have towers like that one? Maybe not; Port Louvre didn't. But it seemed that bigger cities usually have landmarks, like this tower.

What other landmarks did humans make?

Mer cities for sure never got this big, or had anything like this, no big structure to loom over their tribes and homes. Atlantis was the closest, but it wasn't as well connected as human cities, or as well constructed. Most mers liked to live in tribes and stay in their own territory. Some would fight if they felt there was a threat to their authority. And those territories weren't even close to being a city like Atlantis, with most mers setting in caves or among the coral.

It made Adrien wonder if mers would ever have a grand city like humans did.

And now, looking at this, Adrien suspected that even Atlantis wasn't as grand as this. It wasn't truly constructed. It was just coral, shaped by mers to meet their aesthetic. It was big enough to host a large tribe of mers but it wasn't as grand as this.

As Adrien gawked, Ladybug worked behind him, running around, struggling to remember to avoid Adrien's tail, and preparing to dock. So far, she had only stumbled once, and had yet to hit the floor. Ladybug was taking it as an optimistic sign.

"Alright!" she called out, catching Adrien's attention. He squawked when she grabbed him by the tail and pulled him back towards the cabin. "Go change, we're going to be docking in an hour."

She set him down on the floor, pulling out the clothes they got for him, leaving them down beside Adrien for him to chose. Ladybug slipped outside, closing the door behind her and rushed up to the wheel, ready to steer and land at Port Eiffel.

She smiled, if there was any place to hear about _Chat Noir_ , it'd be there. It had to be there. She felt that Tikki was smiling down upon her today, she was going to hear about _Chat_ .

Ladybug hoped she would.

* * *

Adrien barely waited for Ladybug to dock the boat, jumping on the wet dock and almost slipping in his eager rush. Ignoring her alarmed shout after him, Adrien raced down the harbour, dodging the dockmaster and heading for the city.

Fondly rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Ladybug followed Adrien onto the port, tied up the boat, and turned to the grimacing dockmaster.

"We've been at sea for a while," she offered, handing him a few coins.

"Have a good visit, ma'am," the dockmaster brushed off, heading away and counting what she gave him.

Ladybug followed Adrien's path into the port, finding him standing still for a moment, looking over everything.

She nudged him, asking, "Bigger than Louvre, huh?"

"Much bigger," he agreed, turning big eyes to her. "Could we go see the tower?"

Ladybug grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, saying, "Right this way, Adrien."

Adrien grinned excitedly, glaring to the grey tower that loomed over the port city it was named after. It was even bigger than he expected, huge in comparison to what he saw at the cove. Excited, he hurried ahead, dragging Ladybug behind him, his eyes locked on the tower. Ladybug giggled behind him as Adrien dragged her along, dodging around people in his rush, eager to stand at the tower's feet.

Ladybug took lead again when Adrien took a wrong turn, guiding him down the right path.

"First time I saw this tower I was just taken in by Captain Jagged Stone. In comparison to Notre, it was a pretty wild sight." Ladybug chuckled. "Though it would've been more miraculous if I wasn't terrified of the pirate dragging me around."

Adrien drew near, his gaze curious and intrigued. "Notre? That was where you were from?"

"It was. Named after a cathedral, Notre Dame."

"You like having cities named after landmarks," Adrien noted.

Ladybug grinned. "A bit. The capitol, Paris, isn't named after a landmark though."

He leaned close, shoulder brushing hers, wondering, "Have you ever been to Paris?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Too far inland. I like to be close to the sea."

"There's no better place to be," Adrien agreed, grinning when Ladybug gave him a nudge. "So what's Notre like?"

Hands interlocked, snugly fit together, Ladybug told him her childhood home. How her parents owned a bakery that was right across from the great cathedral. How they lived right next to one of the greatest rivers, the Seine.

"I even had a little rooftop garden. A pot of roses. It was starting to branch out and spread on the railing."

"Roses?" Adrien repeated.

Ladybug hummed, looking around the streets for the flower. "They're a wealthy flower," she said, lips pursed.

"You like flowers, right?" Adrien guessed. "I've seen some, like there'd be a party on a big ship and sometimes flowers are thrown overboard. They don't last long in the water, sadly. But very pretty."

"Yeah, we like flowers because they're pretty and they smell nice, and sometimes, they have symbolism," Ladybug said.

"Symbolism?"

"Ah ha!" Ladybug cried, pulling Adrien to the side towards a garden in a park. She cupped a round, plated flower, one that was redder than blood. "This is a rose," Ladybug revealed, and quickly warned as Adrien reached for it. "Careful of the thorns."

Adrien carefully cupped under the flower's head, feeling soft petals resting on his hand. Petals he immediately noted would easily fall and break away under the slightest nudge. He curved his fingers around the stem, avoiding the first thorn he came across. It was a mean looking point, ready to peirce and bite.

He glanced to Ladybug, seeing her look over the flowers nostalgically. He eyed her, taking in the slant of her half lidded eyes, the sag of her shoulders, her hands resting on her hips. She looked wistful, and tired.

Licking his lips, he asked, "What do they symbolize?"

"It depends on the color of the rose," Ladybug answered, "but, usually, with red ones like these, they're symbols of love. It's a custom to gift red roses to people you love and want to pursue."

"Love," he repeated, cupping the flower head again. "It's a very fitting flower."

Ladybug agreed.


	9. Trouble at Eiffel

Adrien's jaw hung open as he gazed up at the Eiffel Tower, deaf to Ladybug's giggles next to him. It was way higher than he expected, so much bigger and taller. It reached up well into the sky, reaching a realm where only birds had the wonder to enjoy in Adrien's experience.

To see something be so tall and able to reach so high… it was aweing.

He whispered aloud, "How did you make this?"

"I don't really know," Ladybug confessed. "I don't know how the builders were able to go so high."

"We certainly never did."

"Mers have a different culture," Ladybug replied. "Some of you are nomadic, some of you like to live in small groups. We humans just live together in big groups."

"I think our biggest creation is Atlantis. We carefully shaped coral and used rocks and were able to make our own human city, but it's not like Port Eiffel, and we certainly don't have this!" He waved to the tower, still so awed.

"Maybe one day you will," Ladybug offered.

Adrien chuckled. "Not likely, not with how much the ocean moves. I've been to the edge of Atlantis, and it struggles to stay up half the time."

He leaned towards Ladybug, intending to lean on her, only to stumble when he came across no one. He turned, just in time to see Ladybug rush away and disappear into a building. He tilted his head, curious about what was inside. Not quite interested to go inside a building, Adrien sat back on a bench, gazing up at the Eiffel Tower.

It truly was an amazing creation.

Mers could hiss about humans all they wanted, but there was no denying that humans were amazing creators. Older mer that studied the stars and looked to the moon said that their land counterparts were the children of Tikki, the great creator, or were at least guided by her. That was how they could make these wonders; ships to carry them over water, homes for them to hide in and stay safe in, and towers that can kiss the sky.

Adrien can suspect that some mers were jealous of their capabilities. A jealousy they didn't want to acknowledge.

Adrien was up to acknowledge it. This was amazing. He wished they had something like this in the ocean.

He perked up when Ladybug sat down beside him, something delightful smelling with her. He locked his gaze on the small wrapping she offered him, nose twitching at the steaming smell.

"What is that?" he wondered.

"A cookie," she said. "It's one of the treats we made at our bakery, a chocolate chip cookie."

He took the warm package, unfurling it and looking over the brown food. It didn't look pretty, brown with dark spots in it, but it did smell good. He glanced at Ladybug.

She goaded, "Take a bite."

He held up this chocolate chip cookie, turning it around as he looked it over. He glanced to Ladybug, seeing her looking at him expectantly. With a small, weak smile, he took a bite of the soft treat and was very pleasantly surprised at the flavor. Ladybug laughed as he took another eager bite.

"This is amazing," Adrien declared after swallowing down his second. "Your family used to make these?"

"And some other goods. Croissants, cakes, cupcakes, fruit tarts…"

"Could I try them all?" Adrien asked excitedly when she trailed off.

Ladybug chuckled, giving him some coins. "I'm going to head into a tavern, listen to the gossip, maybe see if I can hear anything about my ship. Bakery is right there." She pointed to the small shop. "Tavern there." She pointed to a large building, with chipped paint and cracks on the wall.

Adrien blinked at the tavern, brow raised. Faintly, he could hear hoots and hollers from inside. "Doesn't seem like a nice place," he murmured.

She shrugged. "It can depend on the place. Sometimes they're nice. But I need sailors if I'm going to find my ship." She stood, giving Adrien a salute. "See you in a bit!"

He gave a her wave, pleading, "Be safe, I'll join soon, I promise!"

As Ladybug left, Adrien hurried to the bakery. He had some goodies to try first before he joined Ladybug.

Inside the tavern, Ladybug plopped down the first empty seat, asking for some water. She took a big drink, downing most of the glass. She set the glass down with a relieved sigh, licking her lips to catch any stray drop of water.

"You're one thirsty girl," the bartender noted, rubbing a glass clean with a rag.

"Just sailed in," Ladybug answered, slowly twirling her cup around, "Was low on water when we came in." She glanced to him, wondering. "We're going to be setting off soon. Have there been any reports on pirates?"

"You got something pirates would want?"

"It'd be a gamble," Ladybug pointed out, "pirates are gamblers. They won't know what I have till they come aboard. If I know who's out there, I could be prepared."

The bartender hummed, setting the glass down and looking her over. "You a captain's daughter?"

"Does it matter? I just want to know about the activity here lately. A simple question."

He sighed, tossing the rag to the counter and starting to wipe it, keeping his hands busy. "I might've seen a black ship last night, ."

She perked, leaning forward. "Any idea who?"

"I couldn't say, there are a lot of black pirate ships out there."

The three most famous ones were _Chat Noir_ , _Akuma_ , and _Dragon_. There were others, but those were the most known. Though, even Captain D'argencourt kept a black ship, _Darkblade_.

Ladybug was sure it wasn't _Akuma_ that he saw.

"Did you see where it was heading to?" she asked, leaning closer.

"Nope. As soon as I saw it drawing near, I closed up shop, made sure it was all secure. Not risking a raid." He leaned back, noticing someone waving for an order. "The ship's hopefully gone by now."

Ladybug pursed her lips, running her finger over the cup's rim. So the black ship was heading to port. If a pirate ship wasn't coming for a raid, it would dock away from port, to the side. She turned her chair, hopeful and anxious.

That could be _Chat Noir_.

But to be sure, she'd need to ask around, see who'd been seen wandering around. If anyone had seen a girl with red hair, or a blonde that walked as if she was floating, or a giant with a small girl with curly hair. If anyone had seen someone matching those descriptions, she'd know her ship had been here.

But, just as Ladybug was about to move, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder in a firm grip, what made her jump in surprise. She slowly turned, seeing a tall, cold-eyed man standing behind her.

With a tight smile, she asked, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Pardon me, but, do I know you?" the man asked.

"I don't recall us ever meeting."

"Not face to face," the man confirmed, dragging her around so she faced him, staring down at her critically. The tavern went silent, watching them. "But I do believe I've seen you before…"

"You're mistaken," she insisted, withdrawing from him. "If you would excuse me, sir."

"Ladybug.''

She paused, unable to help but tense at her name.

The man noticed, his eye narrowing sharply. "Captain Ladybug, I was on the _Copper_ , the last ship you raided, looking over Raincomprix's ship, see how he was running things."

She cracked a grin. "Did he pass inspection, sir...?"

"I had heard that you were dead."

Her grin grew at his stiffness, trying to hide her growing nervousness. Very direct and to the point with a pirate. Not too many she could think of that would be like this. There were two that immediately came to mind, and neither of them would be great to run into.

Coyly, she asked. "Who gave you that idea? Was my crew talking?"

" _Chat Noir_ was seen off the coast of Notre, and there was a curious report of it looking worn out, the crew scrambling, and no sight of the captain always dressed in red."

" _Chat Noir_ was seen, roughed up, crew a mess, and no one captured it?" she said, tsk-ing at the man. "My, how impressive the navy is."

The man made a grab for her and Ladybug dodged under him, racing past him and darting outside.

Her gaze met Adrien's as he came out, a cookie sticking out of his mouth, and an arm full of croissants. His bright green eyes met her tense gaze and the disguised mer faltered, brow furrowed in concern at her tension. Ladybug shook her head at him before tearing off, just in time to avoid the hand that tried to grab her again.

"Get her!" a man shouted, pointing after her, "That's Captain Ladybug of _Chat Noir_ ! I want her arrested!"

Men and guards rose up, all eyes locking on the dark haired girl as she fled away, deeper into Eiffel, the tower's shadow falling over her as men pursued.

Adrien dropped all his treats, body tensing as worry and protection rose up in him.

 _Fight_ , his instincts chanted. _Protect. Keep away._

He raced after those men, feelings his claws and fangs grow, scales starting to appear on his wrist and his neck, his ears starting to pointen. He wasn't going to see her taken away again. Not this time.

Before Adrien could get far, he ran into a broad chest, sending him to the ground. His enraged eyes locked onto surprised steel eyes. Adrien rose up, teeth bared to snarl; he froze when there was a warning hiss, a sword ready to be pulled out of a sheath.

"Steady there, mer," the bearded man said, staring down at Adrien warily, "I'm not in the mood for any trouble, are you?"


	10. A Pirate's Life for Me

**Merry Christmas!**

* * *

Ladybug ran as fast as she could, her footsteps making a steady noise on the cobblestone road. Her clothes flapped over her body, her dark hair twisting behind her. She ducked and danced around people, moving lithely through the crowded streets. She glanced behind her, seeing blue-uniformed soldiers hurrying after her, trying to work around the people in the streets and shouting for someone to stop her.

With a coy grin, Ladybug raced to some stacked crates, scaling up the ridges and moving with it's teeter. She almost had a heart attack when she missed a step. With a small struggle, she reached the top and jumped for the ledge, kicking over the small tower of crates in the process. With a grunt, she pulled herself onto the curving roof and dragged herself up onto the flat top. She leaned against the chimney, looking down to see her pursuers waving their fists at her, shouting angrily.

With a teasing wave, she stood up and stretched, hands resting on her hips as she looked over the surrounding roofs. Where to go…

As her pursuers shouted at her from below, Ladybug raced along the roof, eyes set on an adjacent roof. With a great leap, Ladybug reached for it, stumbling a little when she hit the roof's curve and scrambled up. As she hurried up and raced along the roofs, her pursuers' voices grew fainter and fainter.

she kept her eyes to the streets, trying to find Adrien. She hoped they could just simply hide away, stay low and wait for the commotion to die down, but if the worse came to happen, and they couldn't hide, they would just escape and try their luck elsewhere.

Hearing another shout below, Ladybug glanced down to see her pursuers still persistently chasing her. With a grimace, she reconsidered her options. Perhaps it would be best to just leave, get away while they could. With a slight grimace, she sought the streets for Adrien, a flicker of worry in the back of her mind. Last time she was in trouble, Adrien went berserk. If he went berserk here, turning into a mer, she wouldn't be able to get them out fast enough.

Ladybug hurried along, dark hair jerking behind her. She stopped at Eiffel Square, where she last saw Adrien. Who was not there.

"Great," she muttered, setting her hands on her hips and looking down, searching the streets for him. Where did he go…

Ladybug jumped when a rock went flying by inches from her shoulder. She looked down to see soldiers below, throwing stones at her. Ladybug looked behind them, tensing to see Gabriel coming up behind them, a crossbow in his hand. Ladybug slid down the roof, jumping tothe adjacent roof and racing up the slope. Below, she heard the pound of feet of her pursuers, shouting after her. Ladybug kept her eyes to the sea, feeling the necklace Adrien got her bouncing off her collar. With it, she could escape, she could—

She squeaked, slipping when something dark jumped in front of her, appearing from below. A hand grabbed hers when she started to fall off the roof, looking up to see the grinning Captain Jagged Stone staring down at her, gripping a railing to keep them steady.

"Captain Jagged?" she whispered.

"Hey, Little Lady," he greeted.

"Ladybug!" She looked down, seeing Adrien below, hands out stretched for her.

"Going down," Jagged said, letting her go, laughing when she squealed in surprised. There were mutual grunts as Adrien caught her, wobbling a little from the sudden weight.

When he steadied, he gave the surprised pirate a grin. "Guess I get to carry you now, huh?"

She gave him a light smack, wondering, "Where were you?"

Jagged dropped down behind them, pushing Adrien along as he said, "Later squirts, we've got to go."

Plucking a smoke bomb off his belt, he ripped the thread off with his teeth and threw it behind him. There were shouts and squeals smoke exploded behind them, allowing them to disappear from the port city.

Gabriel walked through the smoke, glaring down every alley he saw. But they were gone. They escaped, for now.

* * *

Jagged Stone was one of the most dreaded pirates to come across the seas. His ship _Dragon_ was one of the fastest ships on the waters, one that could easily outspeed even Ladybug's _Chat Noir_. And to add to the danger of Captain Jagged Stone, there was his fearsome pet, the dreaded Fang, a big croc that swam alongside Dragon . It was big enough that Ladybug has heard sailors mistake Fang for a sea serpent or a sea dragon, and fierce and strong enough to make ships tilt and sway.

Now, that mighty dragon burst out of the water, slamming his body on the dock and rattling it up. It hardly deterred Ladybug as she released a loud squeal, rushing to the crocodile.

"FAAANG!" she cried.

The big croc opened it's mouth, releasing a loud rumble. He closed his mouth in time for the small pirate to toss herself over his snout, his tail wagging a little as she cooed her greetings and patted his snout.

Behind her, Adrien leaned over, brow raised, curious and a little concerned. Beasts like these were rare sights, but they were seen around islands and along the coasts. Adrien had overheard from some mers that they had comeacross them when they swam close to shore, and they barely escaped their jaws. Adrien understood that these beings were dangerous, yet here was Ladybug lounging over the beast like it was an old friend.

Adrien jumped when a hand came onto his shoulder, looking up to see Jagged grinning down at him in amusement. "Fang's a friend," Jagged reassured. "Saved me from drowning as a kid and we've been a duo ever since."

With a loud rumble, Fang drew near, shoving his snout to Adrien, sniffing loudly. Ladybug slid off Fang, watching in amusement as the mer cringed before the reptile.

"He won't bite you, Adrien."

He nodded slightly, not daring to move as he stared down at the crocodile. If need be, he was ready to dive into the water and escape, he's sure he could out swim a crocodile… he hoped, at least.

Clacking his jaws, Gang turned away in disinterest, slipping into the water. Adrien released a breath, sagging in relief. Jagged chuckled, before drawing near, heading for his ship.

"So," he started, eyes set on Marinette, "let me get this straight. A storm washed you overboard and this scaly—" he jabbed his thumb towards Adrien— "saved you?"

"She saved me first!" Adrien piped up, hurrying up behind them.

"You saved a mer," Jagged parroted, glancing down at Marinette, brow raised. "Swimming with the sharks much, Little Lady?"

"He was in a net," Ladybug said. "He was going to be sold to some highborn and put in a display tank."

"Yeah, mers don't like that either, and usually go on a murder spree."

"I didn't do that," Adrien muttered, scowling at the pirate's back.

"Luckily for you," Jagged said. He stopped, staring down at Adrien thoughtfully. The mer stopped, peering back at him warily. Pointing down at him, he repeated, "And you're helping her get back to the spooky ship because she saved you?"

Ladybug crossed her arms, huffing, " _Chat_ isn't a spooky ship."

"No, he's a spooky ship. It is freaky how everything goes your way on that ship."

Ladybug cracked a smug grin. "Maybe I'm just that good of a pirate."

Jagged hummed, unable to help but puff out his chest. "Who was trained by the best."

Adrien tilted his head, brow furrowed. Jagged quickly shook his head, continuing, "Anyway! You're helping her because she saved you?"

"Life debt," Adrien said. "She helped me get back to where I belong, so I'm helping her get back to where she belonged."

Jagged hummed, looking over Adrien critically. "Don't know too many mers who do that."

Before Adrien could respond, there was a shout behind them, from a small boat that was drawing near, a large black pirate ship set in the distance.

 _"IS THAT OUR LITTLE LADY?"_

They turned to see a purple haired woman waving to them, climbing onto the dock.

"Penny!" Ladybug called back, waving to her.

 _"GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE, BUGINETTE! LET ME GIVE YOU A HUG!"_

With a laugh, Ladybug tore off, tackling the woman with a laugh.

"Buginette?" Adrien echoed.

Jagged just shook his head and waved Adrien off. Instead, he prompted, "So?"

Adrien held up his hand, letting black scales wrap around his arm, watching Jagged tense for a moment. "A bit on my own," Adrien said. "I have no loyalty to keep to any other mer. Ladybug helped me, I intend to return the favor." Jagged stared at those black scales, sparing a fast glance to Adrien. Adrien quietly said, "I won't hurt you or anyone else in your crew."

Jagged eyed him, considering letting him on his ship. He gave a small nod, murmuring, "Ok. I'll let you on. Little Lady usually has a good instinct, a good judge of character. She trusts you, that's a good sign. But if there's any trouble…"

"There won't be," Adrien reassured.

Content, Jagged pulled the surprised mer close, calling out, "Hey, Pen! Look what the Little Lady found!"

There was a gasp on the end. "Where did you find such treasure?!"

"PENNY!"

* * *

Ladybug winced when she took a small sip of her rum, withdrawing to glare at the liquid. She commented as Jagged sat down beside her, "It seems stronger than I remember."

"Still not much of a drinker?" Jagged chuckled.

"Not too many on my crew are big drinkers," Ladybug said, "and most of us like to be more focused. The nly drinker is Chloe; she likes to go up on the crow's nest with the finest wine she stole, and watch the waves up there."

"Now _that's_ how you drink," Jagged praised.

Ladybug grinned. "It is really nice. If we meet up again when I'm back on Chat Noir , I'll give you a bottle of the finest wine we have." She chuckled. "With Chloe, it's a guarantee that we'll get one."

"I'll hold you to that," Jagged said.

Both looked over when there was a loud noise, seeing Adrien jerking away from his mug, sticking his tongue out in disgust. Jagged laughed, "I guess mers don't have their own liquor."

Ladybug snorted, "How would they even have any? Most live underwater."

"And in groups," Jagged added. "And most black mers keep to themselves…"

"I sometimes think he's lonely," Ladybug murmured, taking another slow sip.

"And that's why he's persisting to stay with you?"

"He's going more out of his way than he has to," Ladybug said. "He saved my life twice."

Jagged glanced to her, raising a brow. Ladybug elaborated, "First time I nearly drowned when I was washed off _Chat_ , second time…"

Jagged glanced to her. "What happened the second time?"

"We kind of… ran into Hawkmoth."

Jagged stiffened. "Shit, Little Lady. Talk about poking a shark."

"Hey, we didn't plan for the _Akuma_ to sneak up on us."

"No one ever does. What did you two do?"

"Adrien went berserk and I kind set his ship on fire."

"...Shiiiit."

Ladybug winced. "Yeah, he's not going to forget that."

"Hell no he's not. He's going to be hunting you two down."

Ladybug grimaced and nodded. "Here's hoping I find my ship first."

"Would the spooky ship even be enough?"

"Don't underestimate my ship."

Jagged snorted, and rose up with a stretch. He turned to Ladybug and raised his cup to her. "Well, I hope the gods smile on you. You seem to have Tikki's blessings, hope the other six are watching out to you too."

"I hope so," Ladybug said.

After nodding to her, Jagged left to join his crew, and Ladybug slouched in her chair, watching the waves, enjoying the low light of the lanterns. She glanced over at Adrien as he joined her, making a face at his drink.

Ladybug reassured, "You don't have to drink it."

Adrien immediately set it away, wrinkling his nose in distaste, making her laugh. He shook his head at her, commenting, "You humans have strange tastes."

"I suppose we do," she agreed, teasing, "I do like you."

Adrien gave her a pout. He turned his gaze to the crew, watching them chuckle and relax on deck. "So, you grew up here?"

"Yes," Ladybug said, nodding to the crew. "Grew up among a lot them, though there are some missing faces." She frowned. "But yes, this is where I learned it all. Became the infamous Lucky Ladybug."

"But your name wasn't always Ladybug," Adrien said, "and I don't think it's Buginette…?"

She cracked a grin. "No. Buginette became a fond nickname from Penny, mixing up my real name with Ladybug. My real name's Marinette, and with mix of with Ladybug, well, she likes to call me 'little bug'."

"Marinette," he repeated, smiling. "It's a pretty name. Marinette… It's a shame you don't go by it."

"You can call me Marinette," she said.

Adrien looked to her, eyes bright. "Really?"

"Yes." She shifted in her seat, cheeks a little pink. "Ladybug is a name the world knows, but, Marinette, that's the name my crew knows."

Adrien's gaze turned wonderous. "Only your crew?"

"Yep, only crew. You followed me onto Akuma to save me. Only the most devoted would do that. Makes you a comrade… well, that is, your don't have to join. Just, I trust you and I want you to know my name and I sound stupid."

"No you don't!" Adrien reassured, taking her hand and squeezing it. "I'm touched, really. I thought Ladybug was an odd name and turns out it isn't, and, I know your true name. I'm happy you wanted to share it with me." Adrien leaned over, resting his head on Ladybug's, smiling as her face went red.

"I'd be happy to join your crew." He glanced to the darkening waves, stating, "It'd be the best thing to happen to me."

"Really?" she wondered.

"Do you know why black mers are always alone?" Adrien asked, glancing down at his hand, still holding hers.

She admitted, "I thought you were bad omens."

"To mers, we might as well be," Adrien said, letting his black scales cover his hand. "For mers, coloration and patterns and how pretty your scales are, that's all that matters. Black mers are colorless. We have no other color, no pretty pattern in our scales. if I had some white I could've been accepted, but…" Ladybug weaved her fingers through his, giving the scaly hand a squeeze. "we're also considered impure. Black mers are all offsprings of humans and mers."

She gave a start at that, surprised. "You're half human?"

"That's why I can stand being in human form longer than most other mers. The price being I don't have the pretty scales that mers adore, and, well, half human. It's like my human heritage just sucks the coloration out of me."

Ladybug frowned, then shook her head, her hair tickling his cheek. "You have colors in your scales, Adrien." At his baffled frown, she lifted up their intertwined hands and named every color she could see. "There's blue, green, purple, orange, yellow, white…"

Every hint of hue and shade and tint she saw, she named, pointing them out to Adrien, for him to see that he had colors, that he was just as pretty as other mers and his scales weren't colorless or dull. When she turned to him, his eyes were misty, his gaze awed as he stared at his scales in a new light.

He jumped up from his seat and stripped down, Ladybug barely having enough time squawk her surprise. There were whistles and shouts from the crew that Adrien ignored, rushing overboard and dove to the water below. Getting up, she gathered his clothes and looked out, seeing Adrien crawl onto rock, catching the last bit of sun to stare at his tail.

Having seen his scales during the sunset, the pirate was happy to know what colors Adrien was no doubt seeing, hues of orange, pink, red, purple… He was beautiful, his scales colorful; she was happy she was able to help him see that. Out of all her accomplishments, this felt like the greatest.

* * *

That evening, Adrien found he couldn't sleep. He laid out on his rock, staring down at his scales, unable to look away from all the colors Lady… no, Marinette revealed to him.

Under the soft moonlight, he saw blue, ranging from looking white to something darker. And as the waves lulled and swayed, so did the blue on his body, shimmering in an elegant dance that was hypnotic.

He swished his tail fin in the water, watching those blue shades dance over his scales. It left him giddy. This was miraculous. He had color in his scales. His dark scales could reflect whatever color was around, it made one of if not the most beautiful mer in the sea to have so many colors appear on his scales.

Adrien rolled onto his back, letting his tail arc above him, reaching for the sky. Even now, he could see the white glow of the Moon reflecting off his body, giving him a beautiful shine.

Adrien flopped over to his side, looking out towards the Dragon . All the lights were out, the ship hidden away from sight, letting the crew sleep undisturbed. With one certain pirate in mind, Adrien pushed off his rock. He swam by the drifting Fang and scaled his way back on board. Adrien grunted as he fell to the floor, his tail fin laid over his head.

Straightening up and shaking his head, Adrien looked around, finned ears perked up, nose twitching as he sniffed the ship for Marinette. Where was she? He wanted to see her. Needed to see her…

Adrien crawled along the ship, searching for her, pausing when he caught her scent. He found her curled up under the stairwell, gone to the world, soft sighs and hums coming out of her. Adrien drew near, laying down beside her, watching her sleep, his tail curling around her.

"Marinette," he whispered.

She hummed, bunching up the blanket she snuggled with, pulling it closer.

"Thank you," he said.

She cracked one sleep eye, seeing him close and mumbled, "Welcome."

His smile grew and he wiggled happily. Unable to resist, he drew near, nuzzling her as a happy rumble came out of him. Marinette whined in protest and tried to shift away, just wanting to go back to sleep. Happy to be close, Adrien let her be, lying close and feeling the heat of her body near him. Before he joined her in sleep, he pressed a light kiss to her brow, whispering, "Thank you."


	11. The Angry Sea Moth

Ladybug grunted as she set the boxes down and slid them underneath the seat of their boat, one of the small ones Jagged was willing to part with. She ignored Fang as he nudged the side of ship, staring at Ladybug with huge orange eyes. She paused long enough to lean over and pat the crocodile's head, grinning as it rumbled happily and lifted his head up to her touch.

Drawing near, she told him, "You watch out for Jagged, ok?"

Fang clacked his jaws.

"That's my boy," she cooed.

Fang slid closer, making the boat tilt as he rested his head on it, his toothy smile growing as Ladybug laughed and continued to pet him. Above her, Jagged and Adrien looked down on them, watching the pirate cuddle the croc.

With a grin, Jagged warned, "He's probably going to follow you to out to sea, for a while anyway. He's really missed the little lady."

"I wouldn't mind that," Adrien said.

Jagged's smile dropped, looking to the mer. "You do know that Hawkmoth will be hunting you two down, right?"

"Yeah, we know." Adrien nodded.

"He won't underestimate this time, nor will he give you two a chance to surprise him."

"We'll be careful."

"Hope so."

Jagged drew away, leaving Adrien alone to stare down at Marinette and Fang. Adrien watched as Jagged went down, arms spread wide as he called out to Marinette. Adrien turned his gaze outwards towards the open sea, frowning as he leaned on his hand.

Jagged Stone had shared details of the last sightings for _Chat Noir_ , evidently news Marinette had heard before. _Chat Noir_ had sailed by Port Eiffel just a day ago. They were on the right track; they were close.

Adrien smiled, feeling nervous and excited. They were going to find _Chat Noir_ , Marinette's ship and her crew, a crew she offered Adrien to join. She wanted him to be on her crew. She wanted him on _Chat Noir_. She wanted a black-scaled mer…

Letting his smile grow as a warmth grew in his chest, Adrien let his scales show, looking over the rigged onyx scales, trying to catch what colors he could see this time. Giving into his vain nature, he could help but eagerly check his scales every time of the day, eager to see what colors shown through at any time of the day. Marinette had opened a whole new world to him, a whole new sense of beauty about himself and like a sponge, Adrien was soaking up this revelation.

His scales were had so many colors in his scales, colors he'd never noticed, colors no other mer bothered to look for and point out.

He turned his excited gaze to Marinette as she stood away from Fang, looking out to the sea. Feeling energetic and mischievous, Adrien stripped down and jumped over the edge, disappearing into the waters below.

Marinette gave a start at the sudden splash. She looked behind her as the boat rocked, watching the bubbles and foam fester on the surface. She looked up, seeing that Adrien was gone. She had enough time to fondly roll her eyes before Adrien burst out the surface next to the boat with a shout.

"Hi Marinette!"

Marinette shriekd in surprise, stumbling back and falling onto Fang's head, rolling down his body and into the water. Hanging over the rim of the boat, Adrien perked up, finned ears set high, watching the water expectantly.

Marinette broke the surface, sputtering and spitting out salt water. Grabbing Fang's back, she climbed up, glaring at him and growling, "Adrien…"

The mer just grinned, his tail fin sploshing in the water behind him. Across from him, Fang released a rumbling laugh, one that grew louder when Marinette gave him a light smack.

Later that evening, with everything settled in and ready, everyone was gathered on the dock to say goodbye. Ladybug held Jagged tight as the two hugged, holding each other for a few moments. Jagged's crew hung close, waiting for the two to part to say their own goodbye. In the water, Adrien laid on Fang's head, watching the crew of Villain bid farewell to Ladybug.

Jagged and Ladybug drew away, smiles watery and eyes shining from the light of the lanterns. With a coy grin, Ladybug jabbed, "Crying, Captain Jag?"

He snorted, ruffling up her hair. "A little; I'm going to miss you, Little Lady. But! Next time we meet, you'll be back on the spooky ship, right?"

She saluted. "Yes sir! And he's not a spooky ship."

Before Jagged could insist that _Chat Noir_ was, Penny drew near with a slight roll of her eyes, pulling Ladybug into a hug. "It was great having you back, Buginette. You stay safe out there, ok?"

As the crew drew near to say their goodbyes, Adrien shuffled on Fang's head, turning to stare out at the open sea, his tail twitching restlessly behind him. He jumped when Fang yawned, almost tossing the mer into the water.

"Fang!" Adrien huffed.

The crocodile rumbled humorously, swimming near to join the goodbye.

By evening, where night and sea blended together in a dark mass on the horizon, Ladybug and Adrien sailed away, coarse set for her ship. They were going to find _Chat Noir_. Ladybug was going to see her ship again.

* * *

"Will your crew like me?" Adrien wondered, an hour into sailing.

"Yes," Ladybug answered immediately. She spared the mer a glance as she admitted, "It'll take a while for them to get used to you, but yes, they'll like you, Adrien."

He smiled, tail twitching behind him, pleased but still so nervous. Mers didn't join pirate crews, it was unheard of. If anything, pirates and mers avoided and hated each other. In most cases, tried to kill each other.

And yet, here she was, Captain Ladybug allowing a mer to join her crew on _Chat Noir_. He wondered if this was going to be too wild for the world. It was a bit too wild for him but he found himself excited at the possibilities.

Pirate Adrien… the first pirate mer. He liked the sound of that. Adrien leaned on his arm, staring at the waves, picturing himself in the water's surface. He saw himself wearing a black bandana, maybe it was pulled over one of his eyes. Scouting ahead of _Chat Noir_ , finding treasure for them in the depths of the sea, standing at Captain Ladybug's side at the helm.

It was a real nice vision, one that left him even more thrilled with the future, of being apart of her crew. To have a place to belong, to be welcomed. It was a bit of a dream come true, everything working out amazingly.

They'd find _Chat Noir_ and Adrien got to live on as a pirate, belonging to a crew, being part of a family unit. It was almost too good to be true.

And the seas agreed.

Or maybe the god of misfortune, Plagg, agreed, and flew right by their boat. Adrien's ears perked when he heard a loud, distant sound. It was a faint, angry creak, a bitter moan on the wind. Adrien rose up, arms straight to lift him as high as possible as he sought the horizon for that sound. That didn't sound good. That didn't sound like something they wanted to meet.

"Adrien?"

He didn't turn to her, glaring out. He murmured, "Give me a minute." He dived into the water, ignoring Ladybug surprised call behind him. In the water, his finned ears perked up, listening. He heard it again, louder and more ominous. Unnerved, Adrien went back to the surface, startling Ladybug back from where she was leaning over the edge.

Looking her dead in the eye, he said, "We need to go."

"What?" she wondered, straightening up and heading for the wheel. "What's going on?"

"Something's coming," Adrien grunted as he climbed back on board, falling to the floor. He leaned on his arms, looking at Ladybug dead in the eye. "Something big."

She narrowed her eyes and nodded, turning the wheel just so before rushing around, adjusting the sails so the wind could catch it. The boat sailed along the waves, hasting along to avoid whatever it was that Adrien heard. Ladybug glanced back, trying to spot whatever it was that unnerved Adrien, but all she saw was the mer hanging to the back, glaring out behind them, tense.

It made her uneasy to see Adrien so set on this. She turned her gaze forward, focusing on keeping their boat in the path of wind, just sailing along it, deadset ahead. So focused on escaping whatever it was Adrien was afraid of, both jumped when there was a loud boom and the water exploded in front of them.

They turned to see what it was, Ladybug startled and Adrien hissing, pupils thin. There, sailing towards them, was a navy ship. Licking her lips, Ladybug lifted a telescope, looking through it to see General Gabriel standing at the helm, staring down at them.

"How did he sneak up on us?!" she muttered, turning to Adrien, watching him coil up, tail fin twitching back and forth. She ordered, "Get in the water."

Adrien turned to her, starting to say, "But you—"

"He doesn't know about you," she said. "In the water. Now!"

Making a face, Adrien did as she bade, pulling himself overboard and dropping down into the waves with a loud splash. Heart pounding in her chest, Ladybug turned to peer behind them. Lifting up the telescope, all she saw was a dot on the edge of the horizon, sailing behind them.

Whatever that was that scared Adrien so much, she wondered if a navy ship would deter it. And if Gabriel was the lesser evil here…

As Ladybug stood waiting for Gabriel to come for her, she didn't notice Adrien slipping back on the boat, sliding under a bench, making use of his dark scales to stay hidden. Over the ridge of his tail, he watched the navy ship draw near, tense.

There was no way he was going to let her get snatched up again.

* * *

"Captain Ladybug."

"General Agreste," Ladybug returned, giving him a salute. "You look like you're in good health."

He stared down at her, looking unimpressed as he noted, "And you seem chipper for a captured pirate."

She shrugged. "Well, it is a beautiful evening. Should I truly let my captivityruin my mood?"

"Considering what I plan to do with you, yes."

She pouted. "What is with the navy soldiers always being so stiff?" .

He shot back coldly, "And what is with pirates and always causing trouble?" As Ladybug moved to respond, Gabriel cut off, "Enough. Send her to the brig, King Andre would like to see you again, Ladybug; he has a daughter you snatched away."

"She came willingly," Ladybug said. "He should speak to her about it."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes down at her. "He is set that it's you who stole her away."

"I only had a small part in it-"

"Take her to the brig," Gabriel repeated.

His crew grabbed her shoulders, keeping a tight grip on her as they pulled her along. Ladybug jerked and struggled against them, making a face as they drew near the stairwell, digging her heels to the floor. As they were taking that first step down, there was a snarl behind them and a loud rattle. The soldiers stilled and Ladybug tensed.

No. He was in the water. She saw him go into the water… Ladybug turned, looking over her shoulder and watching as Adrien dropped out of the ship, fangs and fins bared. The crew jerked away, shouting in alarm as they faced the mer.

Except for Gabriel, who stood still, staring at the mer in surprise. Quietly, he murmured, "You… you look like—"

Adrien slammed his tail on the deck, cutting him off. "Release her," Adrien ordered. "Or I'll destroy this ship."

To back his claim, he sunk his claws into the wood, a bright shine gliding through the lines of his scales and seconds later, the ship rocked tediously. The crew scuttled away from the mer, crowding away as they stared at him warily.

Gabriel didn't move, still staring down at the angry sea being, meeting his thin pupil gaze with his own. Adrien held his stare, body tense, fins expanding and rise, making him seem bigger before the general. For a few seconds, they stood still, neither moving as they stared down the other. The crew held their breath, watching the stare off between general and mer.

His gaze flickered to Ladybug, anxious by how still this man was so far, Adrien drew near, taking a menacing step closer. He was rewarded by Gabriel stepping away, very aware that he shouldn't let the mer get too close.

Pleased, Adrien demanded once more, "Let her go. You'll let us both go."

Gabriel's lip curled down in a deeper frown as he stared down at the mer, feeling his ship sway tediously at the waves. Waves the mer were said to control, and if anyone made a move to him that he didn't like…

"Alright," Gabriel murmured, jerking his head to the two that held Ladybug. They exchanged a glance, still holding onto Ladybug. They immediately released her when Adrien turned his gaze to them.

Ladybug rushed to Adrien side, crouching down and setting a hand on his shoulder. Around them, the crew surrounded them, wary to approach but not inclined to let them go. Adrien menacingly slammed his tail on the floorboards, making them flinch.

Ladybug spared a fast glance back to their boat. It was still strung up in the water, swinging tediously as the ship rocked. It was close, she knows that she could make it to the boat, but Adrien was slower in his mer form here. She moved her hand lower, resting on Adrien's middle. She could pick him up and run. They could make it that way.

As if sensing what Ladybug was considering, Adrien's arms tensed below him, as if ready to push off the ground in a moment's notice.

Across from them, the crew tensed, also ready to charge as soon as the turned their backs to them. Seconds ticked by as the two ends stared each other down, just waiting for one to move, ready to all surge into action.

The first to move was neither.

The ship surged as water exploded next to them, knocking everyone over. Ladybug wobbled to her feet, looking out to see Akuma prowling up to them, deadset on the ship before them. Alarmed, she turned her gaze down, meeting Adrien's stare.

"Let's go," the mer said.

As Gabriel shouted orders, Ladybug grabbed Adrien, half dragging, half carrying him to the edge. She stumbled as another canon was fired, too close to the ship for anyone's liking. Adrien gripped her arm tight, growling tensely.

"Almost there!" Ladybug shouted, eyes set on the ship.

"No you don't!"

They squawked as Adrien's tail was grabbed, jerking them to a stop. As Ladybug leaned back towards the railing, Adrien whipped around, teeth and claws bared to the soldier that dared grabbed him. Surprised, the soldier fell away and Ladybug and Adrien fell back, going over the edge and falling into the boat.

From the violent swinging and the sudden weight of the pirate and mer, the ropes snapped and the boat fell away from Gabriel's ship. The two screamed out as they fell, their cries deafened by the two large ships turning to face one another.


	12. On the Horizon

Ladybug woke to the low growl of waves and the heavy sway of the boat that road them. There was a weight resting on top of her, and she could feel rough scales rubbing slightly on her skin. With a low groan, she got up slightly, moving the tip of Adrien's tail aside to look at the ocean surrounding them. There were no ships in sight, no _Akuma_ and no Gabriel's ship… _Papillon_ was it?

Ladybug sat up and rubbed her head. It didn't matter. They had escaped. And they were now floating aimlessly in the ocean... again . She glanced to the floor, seeing scattered provisions around, way less than what they had started sighed in resignation.

She turned to Adrien, seeing the mer still out of it. She patted his side, making him twitch.

"Adrien?"

He jerked up, eyes half lidded, uttering, "I'm awake… I'm awake…" He slumped with a groan, rubbing his arm over his eyes, trying to rouse himself. "Are they dead?"

"I don't know," she said, leaning on his gazed outwards, feeling the sun shine on her shoulders, spreading a reassuring heat over her. "We escaped just as Hawkmoth started attacking. If we're lucky, they took care of each other."

Adrien shifted, curling around her until he could look up at her. Ladybug peered down, meeting his tired gaze.

"How off course do you think we are?" he asked.

She shrugged, leaning back and resting her head on his side. "I don't know. We went flying with the boat, and I'm sure the battle created some wild waves that sent us away off-course… we could be anywhere."

It was an exhausting thought. She wanted to be back to her ship, to get finally home, back with her crew. Adrien wiggled, easing himself around and rising up to give her a hug, his tail arching up to help balance him in his endeavor, and shielding Ladybug from the sun. Ladybug returned his hug, holding him tightly.

"It'll be alright, Marinette," Adrien promised, nuzzling her.

"I know," she murmured. "But it's like we take a step forward but then we… we're just pushed back…"

She rested her head on his shoulder, sagging in his arms. Adrien rose slightly, resting his chin on her head, releasing something akin to a purr, trying to reassure and comfort her. Ladybug relaxed, taking in the soothing vibrations, eyeing the ridges of Adrien's scales.

From where he rested his head on her shoulder, Adrien frowned slightly, rubbing circles on her back, silently agreeing with her, feeling frustrated with himself. He had promised to see her back to where she belonged, and he had yet to see her there. How coulda ship be so elusive? He almost wanted to laugh at how hard it was to find just one ship. He understood her exhaustion perfectly, her wariness about finding her ship. He was a little worn out too, and it wasn't even his ship.

Just thinking of how tired she had to be feeling, he pulled her close and nuzzled the top of her head. He wanted to reassure her, that in just a little while they would see Chat Noir again.

But he couldn't be sure of that. Adrien had no idea when they would find the ship; at this point it was starting to look like a big if . He didn't want to make a promise he wasn't sure he could keep, and he knew Marinette wouldn't care to hear an empty promise. Unable to verbally reassure her of their future, he settled for simply holding her and being there. Out of all of this, that was the only promise he could keep. He would be there. He would support her. Even if Chat Noir seemed like a distant dream, Adrien would be there for the pirate.

For a minute, they relaxed there, holding each other, taking in the presence and comfort of their partner, soaking in the reassurance they weren't alone. And when Ladybug felt calm enough, she shifted in Adrien's hold, leaning back to meet his green eyes. She reached up, cupping his cheek and smiling as Adrien leaned into her palm, a content smile sliding over his lips.

"Thank you, Adrien" she murmured. "Thank you for sticking around and helping me, even if you didn't have to. And for staying, even when I wasn't…" she trailed, trying to think of how to sum her distrust from the start.

Adrien caught on what she was trying to say, though. He chuckled. "It's ok. Mers aren't fondly viewed."

She snorted. "Neither are pirates."

"And you still set me free," he noted. "I don't think most pirates would."

She shook her head. "I don't think so either."

He hummed softly, his smile warm, his body relaxed. He stayed there, enjoying her touch, the soothing lull of the waves, and the comfortable warmth of the sun. Blissful in the moment, the mer acted out in a rush of affection, giving Marinette a bit of a start when he turned and pressed a kiss to her palm, his claws wrapping around her wrist gently.

"Adrien," she whispered.

He smiled against her palm, mumbling, "Your hands are soft."

She chuckled, cheeks pink. "Humans are soft."

His smile grew, eyes warm as he gazed down at her. "In our culture," he said, drawing away to look at her hand, looking over lines that shaped her hand, "to kiss another's hand means great admiration. Sort of a… 'I recognize your beauty'."

She stared at him in surprise before smiling.

Adrien teased, "Not going to return the gesture."

She snorted. "You know you're pretty." She decided to humor him, taking his claws and pressing a light kiss on his knuckles. Adrien blinked, ears perking up. With a grin, she told him, "In our culture, a hand kiss is a greeting, a sign of respect, and sometimes devotion."

A huge smile spread over Adrien's lips, his tail curling happily. Leaning closer, he teased, "You're devoted to me?"

She chuckled, shoving him aside. Feeling encouraged, she stood, wobbling a little as the boat rocked. Setting her hands on her hips, she looked down, meeting Adrien's grin with her own.

"Alright, Adrien. I do believe there is a ship for us to find?"

"Yes, my Captain!"

She fisted her hand, giving it a determined wave. "Let's hop to it! We're bound to find that stray sea cat sometime!"

Ladybug jumped over Adrien's tail and went tothe wheel, set to just move and hope it'd be the right direction. With her Adrien at her side, fortune was bound to be with them.

And it was.

It seemed like it was Tikki herself who tapped on Adrien's shoulder, making him glance over just in time to see a dark ship on the horizon, with a red-black flag jerking on top. Adrien rolled onto his stomach, perking up as he leaned forward, trying to see better.

"Adrien?" Ladybug wondered, pausing at the mast, ready to adjust the sail.

Adrien pointed. "There."

She narrowed her eyes, drawing near and looming over Adrien as she eyed the dark spec on the horizon. "Is that…"

"My mer eyes see a bit of red at the black," Adrien said.

"Is it shaped like a cat paw?"

"Uuuuuh I don't know what that is?"

Ladybug was willing to take that chance. She darted away, set the sail, and turned the wheel, heading for it. She gripped the wooden handles, gulping as she drew near. This could be it. That could be her ship…

Adrien echoed her excitement, wiggling towards the front and leaning out to watch them get closer, not bothered by the spray of foam and water. They bounced along the waves, jumping and jerking as they headed for the ship, watching it turn and head their way. When they got closer, Ladybug saw it. It was her flag. It was her ship, her _Chat Noir_.

She cheered and laughed, jumping up and waving to them, almost toppling into the wheel but saving herself just in time. Adrien laughed below, tail curling in delight as he watched _Chat Noir_ draw near, looming over them, meeting the curious and surprised stares of Ladybug's crew, rushing to the side of the ship to see their captain and a black mer lying on the floor.

Adrien smiled up at them, nervous and excited.

They had found it, they had finally found it…

"Marinette," a redheaded girl called out slowly, eyes locked on Adrien. She turned to her captain, brow raised. "Is that a mer in your boat?"

Ladybug laughed, dropping down next to Adrien, beaming up at them. "It's a long story..."


End file.
